It happened—Today’s Harvest, our newest partner, has launched!
Today’s Harvest is a free food market open six days a week for anyone in need of fresh healthy food. They are a part of Open Cupboard, a nonprofit operating various east metro hunger relief programs serving 4,800 households each week.
Grace Weber, Development and Communications Manager at Open Cupboard, says, “Our main goal is to feed our community, and we think that this spot and working with Woodland Hills and the general community will provide food access to so many people in a way that works best for them.”
Today’s Harvest is stocked exclusively with food – primarily produce, bakery items, dairy and meat – that has been ‘rescued’ from area grocery and convenience stores. This is food that would otherwise be thrown out or composted because it is too near the expiration date, the store overstocked it or an item is not selling.
This food is transported to Today’s Harvest locations where it is weighed and sorted. All food is checked to meet safety standards and the idea that, “If you don’t want it in your fridge, likely someone doesn’t want it in theirs either!”
Throughout the day, dozens of volunteers restock so that whether a shopper comes in at 12pm on the dot, or five minutes before closing at 6pm, there is plenty to choose from.
Shoppers browse and select items which they take through a simple self-checkout station. No information is required other than a zip code and the number of people in a household. This shopping experience was developed in response to surveys done at hundreds of Minnesota food shelves. Today’s Harvest caters to three main priorities of those surveyed: access to produce, the ability to choose, and access to items that are fresh and appealing. The ability to choose helps provide dignity in a potentially stigmatized environment.
Grace says, “When someone needs food help and it’s their first time using our resources, their first interaction isn’t ‘Can you give me information to prove that you need help?’ Instead they are greeted with, ‘Hi, have you been here before? Here’s a grocery cart, let me explain how it works and you can start shopping.’ This fundamentally changes the experience, making it feel welcoming instead of intimidating.”
Grace explains, “We’re here for people. You’re more than welcome to use our services, more than welcome to visit us and more than welcome to volunteer. You can support us in many ways, whether making sure food can go to a home instead of being wasted, by donating, by learning more about food security or by volunteering.
On December 17, Today’s Harvest held a ribbon cutting for their grand opening. Special guests included Executive Director Jessica Francis, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Second Harvest Heartland CEO Allison O’Toole and Senator Tou Xiong. You can check out some news stories that covered the opening at Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, and WCCO.
Grace says, “As someone who has seen where Today’s Harvest started to where it is now, the grand opening was truly a celebration of all the time, thought and energy that goes into feeding our community.”
Congrats on your opening Today’s Harvest—you are definitely worth celebrating!
