St. Paul Kitchen & Campus FAQS

We are honored to be able to serve more clients than ever before in the history of Open Arms. However, we do not have the capacity in our current Minneapolis space. We currently serve 2,000 clients and their loved ones in the Twin Cities metro and across the state of Minnesota. To serve this number of clients, we need more freezer space for meals and increased space for cooking, prepping and packing!  At this point in time, we simply do not have the capacity to provide for the current client demand nor will we be able to grow. 

Each decision we make starts with the question of “how will this impact our clients?” The decision to add a full second kitchen and campus in St. Paul was made thoughtfully and carefully and began with an understanding that we could not continue to meet a rapidly increasing demand for our medically tailored meals with our current facility.  

We officially opened on January 3, and delivered the first client meals from St. Paul on January 12.

The new St. Paul Kitchen and Campus is located at 380 E Lafayette Frontage Rd, St Paul, MN 55107 on the historic West Side of St. Paul. You can find your way to all the excitement of our new facility on Google Maps HERE.  

You can find turn by turn directions below: 

Traveling West via I-94W

Continue on I-94 W/US-12 W to Saint Paul

Take the exit from 1-94W/US 12 to US-52S

Follow the Lafayette Bridge (US 52S) to Eaton Street

Take the exit toward Eaton St from US-52 S

Turn left off of the Eaton St. ramp and pass under 52S, take the first left to the East Lafayette Frontage Road

Continue on East Lafayette Frontage Rd to Open Arms, which comes up on the right-hand side

We are located on the first floor of the Runway 52 building. It is the first building you come to on the frontage road.

Traveling South via I-35E S

Continue on I-35E S. Take US-52 S to W Lafayette Frontage Rd.

Follow the Lafayette Bridge (US 52S) to Eaton Street

Take the exit toward Eaton St from US-52 S

Turn left off of the Eaton St. ramp and pass under 52S, take the first left to the East Lafayette Frontage Road

Continue on East Lafayette Frontage Rd to Open Arms, which comes up on the right-hand side

We are located on the first floor of the Runway 52 building. It is the first building you come to on the frontage road.

Traveling East via I-94 E

Take the exit from 1-94E/US 12 to US-52S

Follow the Lafayette Bridge (US 52S) to Eaton Street

Take the exit toward Eaton St from US-52 S

Turn left off of the Eaton St. ramp and pass under 52S, take the first left to the East Lafayette Frontage Road

Continue on East Lafayette Frontage Rd to Open Arms, which comes up on the right-hand side

We are located on the first floor of the Runway 52 building. It is the first building you come to on the frontage road.

Traveling North via I-35E N

Take I-35E N to I-494 E

Take I-494 E to the US-52 N exit

Follow US-52N to the Plato exit toward Plato Blvd/Fillmore Ave

Continue on E Lafayette Frontage Rd to your destination

We are located on the first floor of the Runway 52 building. It is the first building you come to on the frontage road.

Yes, the Open Arms building in Minneapolis will continue operations as usual! The St. Paul Kitchen and Campus is Open Arms’ second stand-alone facility. We will deliver to clients from both buildings and a full variety of volunteer shifts will be available in both buildings.  

In 2019, we embarked on a capital campaign to raise funds for our St. Paul kitchen. The campaign was briefly interrupted by the COVID pandemic and the need for emergency operating funds, but we resumed the campaign in 2020. A combination of generous individuals, foundations, corporate sponsors and community partners have come together to support the campaign and help us work toward the finish line. We are projecting a successful completion of the campaign by December 31 of this year.  

Open Arms’ staff will operate out of both Minneapolis and St. Paul locations. Some staff members will work primarily out of the Minneapolis building, and some will work primarily in St. Paul. However, many staff will go back and forth to accommodate client and volunteer needs. 

For those who have been volunteering in Minneapolis, some things will look very familiar in St. Paul and some things will feel different! We are excited about new faces, new ways of doing things, and a whole new building with new routines to get used to. There will still be the same opportunities for volunteer shifts and roles, although some of the shift times will change.

Other things that might seem different: 

– The freezers are HUGE! Double the number of client meals (60,000!) can be stored in just one of our new St. Paul freezers!  

– Clients wishing to pick up their meals will have an additional ability via our new reception area in St. Paul. 

– We have a designated shipping and distribution room! 

– Parking will be easier! A bigger parking lot was a MUST for the new building. 

– Additional private client counseling room with Zoom meeting capacity 

– Larger volunteer training room with expanded virtual capacity. 

– Larger rentable catering-ready conference room  

– Very easy access to major highways to improve volunteer delivery driver experience. 

– Larger hospitality area for volunteers. 

No, we will now be shipping to clients across the state of Minnesota from the St. Paul Kitchen and Campus, with Open Arms’ shipping program running exclusively out of the brand-new St. Paul Shipping and Distribution Room!

– Client meals will be made in BOTH of our buildings!  

– Clients who live west of 35W will primarily get their meals delivered Monday – Wednesday from Open Arms, Minneapolis.  

– Clients who live east of 35W will primarily receive their weekly deliveries on Thursday and Friday, delivered from Open Arms, St. Paul.