Open Arms of Minnesota

There are so many great things to say about Open Arms! I absolutely love this organization and their mission — they serve to make and deliver healthy/​nutritious and DELICIOUS meals to individuals suffering from cancer, HIV, AIDS, MS, and ALS. I first heard about Open Arms through a friend but had no idea what the organization did until I actually got the chance to volunteer for them.
I came here on a Saturday morning for the Unilocal Helps event and had an amazing experience! We were greeted by Deandra, the Volunteer Manager, with huge smiles and a lot of enthusiasm — she was so sweet! First, she gave a short orientation on Open Arms and then talked us through what we would be doing during our shift. We were assigned to help prep meals, cut up vegetables, and package meal trays and cookies — it’s all fairly easy work but I can see why they rely on their volunteers to get the job done!
The two hours that we were there just flew by. No matter what, you’ll definitely leave feeling like you’ve made an impact on other people’s lives. Open Arms truly makes you feel appreciated for all the work that you do and it just feels wonderful to be able to give back to the community.
I definitely want to come back and volunteer for Open Arms again and possibly try to deliver meals. As much fun as it was behind the scenes, I would love to experience first hand what it’s like to deliver meals to clients and see the joy on their faces when they receive their meals.

I’ve been volunteering at Open Arms for almost 5 years — that’s longer than my fiancé and I have been dating. Anywhere that can make me stick around for that long is clearly something special, and OA completely fits the bill. I was so glad to be a part of the Unilocal Helps! event here on June 11^th, because it was a great opportunity to showcase what the organization is doing for its clients and get people excited about such a cool cause. In short, OA prepares, packages, and delivers meals to people living with chronic, life-​threatening illnesses, including cancer, ALS, HIV/​AIDS, and Multiple Sclerosis. They have a beautiful facility staffed by about 30 individuals, with the bulk of the hands-​on work done by the many volunteers that are there 7 days a week. The craziest part is that they’re serving over 1000 people in the Twin Cities community, and they’re still looking to bump up their production to help even more people! I have nothing but great things to say about OA, so I’ll just go ahead and list them out for you.
Reasons Why You Should Volunteer at OA:
— You’re doing good things for the Twin Cities community
— You’re making productive use of your time
— That said, we know that time is precious and limited — OA allows you to sign up for 2-​hour volunteer shifts either on a regular weekly schedule, or drop in on an as-​available basis.
— Diversity in volunteer tasks. You can choose to pack meals in the kitchen, prep vegetables, work outside in one of their three urban farms (!), and/​or deliver meals to clients. It’s cool to do both «front of the house» and «back of the house» activities — that is, both packaging/​prepping and delivering meals, so you can give the finished product be given to the clients, hear the sincere thank yous, and see their huge smiles!
— Super fun, knowledgeable, experienced staff that are great at their jobs, but are always willing to show you a new cooking technique, ask you about your day, or show you pictures of their cat (Chefs are Like Us!).
— Excellent food! This is not a ham-​and-​cheese sandwich, brown bag lunch kind of meal service. Meals range from Indian curry to spiced chicken with pineapple slaw to turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes (mmmm, holiday season food), and OA also bakes homemade breads and treats in their amazing in-​house bakery (think praline pecan cookies, blueberry crumble bars, vanilla biscotti…).
— Speaking of the food, there’s a volunteer fridge that you can raid if you’re feeling peckish before or after a shift. You can usually have your pick of soups, salads, leftover meals, and baked goods. And there’s coffee!
— OA opens their doors to corporate volunteer groups of about 25 people, if your workplace is interested in having employees do some team-​building service activities.
— Going back to the community thing — I’ve been volunteering with the same group of people since I first came to OA, and it’s been so cool to see how we’ve sort of grown up together? If you’re looking for a way to become more invested in a cause and find some new friends, OA is a great place to start. In my experience, younger, college-​age or working professionals tend to volunteer for meal packaging in the evenings, while retired or part-​time workers tend to fill the morning slots. Their scheduling is so flexible that you can easily find what works out for you.
tl;dr: Go to Open Arms and get volunteering.

I served as a volunteer here on Saturday, June 11. I can honestly say that it was one of the best volunteer experiences I’ve ever had. Deandra led us with enthusiasm, friendliness, and professionalism. The Chef and kitchen staff were wonderfully helpful and made us feel welcome.
Open Arms serves community members with life-​threatening illnesses of, HIV/​AIDS, ALS, MS, and cancers of all sorts. They are infectiously (pun intended) passionate about what they do. They serve some of the folks in the Clair Housing program, where I’m a volunteer cook. It’s always great to see a connection between amazing organizations serving those who tend to get marginalized and forgotten.
Another thing I enjoyed was meeting and getting to know other Unilocalers I’d not encountered before. Everyone was super friendly and added to the fun environment.
I’m glad to have been there and am now considering adding Open Arms to the list of organizations for whom I volunteer.
Thank you, Unilocal,for such a great experience.

Talk about a great feel good opportunity to give back and it has to do with food :) Lucky me!
Fact:
2016 is the 30^th anniversary of this organization that originally started in the someones home.
So a bunch of us Unilocalers got together on Saturday morning to help do prep work of veggie cutting and assemble meal trays (my group did massaman curry over rice with edamame). In a little over 2 hours we assembled over 800 trays of food.
Fact:
Meals are created based upon individual dietary needs of who Open Arms caters to.
As others have said, originally created to serve those in the HIV community that were stuck at home, this group now serves anyone who needs the help.
One of our peeps (Go Ali!) has been volunteering here for a while and one of her favorites is the making breads and desserts in the sun drenched bakery.
Fact:
I only tried a couple of the cookies and a bar and they were tasty!
The place and people are cool and to volunteer is super easy for one individual or group to do. If you are not feeling the kitchen vibe, you can go and do delivery’s to the recipients of the the meals that are created.
If you are looking at giving back, definitely check them out.

Stopped in as Unilocal volunteer on Saturday morning to help prepare meals for clients of the Open Arms nonprofit organization. Clients are those who are living cancer, HIV/​AIDS, MS and ALS. Deandra who led our morning orientation was super sweet and so full of energy! I can feel and admire her excitement and passion for the organization which made me feel really excited as well.
Lisa Anne was one of the main chef volunteer that morning and she was absolutely fun to work with. The entire process was very easy and fun. You can also work in your own pace as well so it’s nice to not have that pressure.
It’s truly impressive what this organization does and the number of meals they prep and deliver each day to their many clients. If you’re looking to get involved in the community and do a good deed, I definitely recommend this place! All it is is just 2 hours of your day and you’d be really glad you came there!

Open Arms is a fantastic organization and one with a wonderful mission: to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves due to illness. This organization not only takes care of those who are ill, but their caretakers and kids too. The meals are delicious, cooked with fresh ingredients, and caters to the dietary needs of the patients, as well as the taste preferences of those they serve. Mushroom & lentil stew, vegetarian borscht, and good olé macaroni and cheese are just a few of the options.
The volunteer staff makes it easy to pick up shifts after work or on the weekends. Two hours prepping vegetables, salads, or whatever else is on the docket is well worth it.

I am proud to admit that I volunteer here. I don’t have to volunteer, but Open Arms is a first rate organization.
First off, they serve a lot of people that really can use some help.
Second, they don’t cut corners. The food they serve is top rate.
Third, they treat everyone with respect. It doesn’t get any better than that.
From Lila and Pete to Asai, Alex and Carol in the kitchen, you all do a great job.
I am honored to be able to lend a hand.

Went today for volunteer training and will be back for sure. Great new building with a huge kitchen. Very flexible with their timing — we’ll start by delivering meals once a week and then will move on to cooking in the kitchen.
It can be really difficult to find a place to volunteer that is so flexible with schedules. The Saturday delivery is actually new for them, and before that we wouldn’t have been able to do that.
Can’t wait to start!

Open Arms of Minnesota is a fantastic organization. The mission statement of Open Arms it to «Nourish body, mind and soul.» With that in mind, the volunteers and staff help cook, bake and deliver over a quarter-​million meals annually to Minnesota residents living with AIDS, HIV, breast cancer, ALS, MS and other chronic diseases. The organization focuses on making delicious, healthy, organic and locally produced foods– and it’s not just for the INFECTED, but the AFFECTED, also offering children’s meals.
If you want to get involved in the community, Open Arms is a great place to do so. Whether you are looking for something to do on weekdays, nights or weekends, Open Arms offers something for everyone– you can bake, cook and package meals, deliver meals, or tend to office duties. You will meet countless friends and be welcomed into a passionate environment that Open Arms extends toward its volunteers! A truly rewarding experience.
Check out their new building in the Phillips neighborhood at 25^th and Bloomington.

This non-​profit is all about food. Of course I am a bit biased as I have been a volunteer here for a number of years.
This organizaton does an incredible job with what resources they have been given. Ouf of a small builing situated on Franklin Avenue they prepare and deliver hundreds of meals each week. Meals are delivered to those with life debilitating illnesses, women going through chemo, people living with MS, people with hiv/​aids. Meals are prepared and cooked from scratch nostly by volunteers. That’s right mostly volunteers.
So if you are so inclined to enjoy working in the kitchen: chopping slicing and diciing. this is your place. I am always learning new things, recipes, easier ways of doing things in the kitchen. meeting new people. check them out. website is
The organization is in the process of building a new building. It will be located on Bloomington Avenue allowing them to double the number of clients they can serve. Volunteering is a beautiful thing!