Ruby’s Pantry: Big Savings on Groceries for Your Family!
Have you heard of Ruby’s Pantry? Ruby’s Pantry is a monthly food distribution with various locations in the midwest.
Right now, there are 85 Ruby’s Pop-Up Pantry locations mostly in Minnesota and Wisconsin, plus a location in Fargo, North Dakota and one in Mason City, Iowa.
It’s open to EVERYONE – no income or residency restrictions! And all you have to do is drive up in your car, hand over $25 in cash, and the volunteers will fill up your car with food!
Ruby’s Pantry in Bloomington has their monthly food distribution typically on the second Monday of the month from 5:00 – 6:30pm (times can vary). But I recommend getting there early as they do run out. And make sure you have plenty of room in your back seat and/or trunk!
And now, they do have an option to reserve a share online in advance. I haven’t done this yet but many do to guarantee a share. It’s $26 instead of $25 to do this.
The location for the Bloomington location is Bloomington Lutheran Church at 9350 Portland Avenue S. I have visited this one a couple of times now and was happy with what we got both times.
We have a family of 5 to feed including 3 teenagers, and we try to buy mostly healthful foods. They do have healthful food so I do go when I can.
I just went in November 2024 and here’s what we got:
I got:
- 1 pound of frozen ground turkey
- 2 packages of Smokey Bacon Cheddar
- 2 boxes of taco shells
- a bag of Thomas blueberry bagels
- Keto bread
- Oatnut bread
- a fresh Turkey deli sandwich
- 2 packages of crackers (similar to Ritz)
- 12 hot cocoa K-cups
- a HUGE bag of cut up broccoli
- a HUGE bag of frozen shredded potatoes
- a bag of Chex Mix spicy dill snacks
- yellow mustard
- 2 bags of Bare toasted coconut chips
- 2 small bottles of RC cola
- 1 can of an energy drink
- a box of laundry detergent sheets
- 2 small packages of bite size cantaloupe
Here’s my honest review of what we got.
Some of the items were expired or close to expiration, but everything was usable. We used the ground turkey for meatloaf, dumped out the RC cola (we don’t drink cola and this particular type had a crazy high amount of sugar), and froze the breads to use later. I really liked the coconut chips, and my husband really liked the cheese. He especially liked the potatoes and all the possibilities with those. He cut up the potatoes into 6 big chunks and froze them. He already made a potato casserole to go with the meatloaf, and is planning on hashbrowns with another chunk of the potatoes.
It may not have been a variety of food we would have bought normally, but it was cheap, and helped add to our usual grocery variety with some new flavors and possibilities. It was actually really fun trying some of the foods as some were new to us – and they were good! I felt that the potatoes, broccoli, cheese, and meat were worth at least $25 themselves. Everything else was a bonus.
Some items we won’t use but I’ll give them to others.
And this load seemed smaller than the last time I went (see below). I expected more so I was a little disappointed, but I know the costs of everything have gone up and I know that the selection varies based on what’s available.
How does it work?
It’s simple.
You either buy a share ahead of time or you show up with cash to pay for a share.
You arrive before the start time, and get directed by volunteers into the parking lot. Volunteers come to your car and ask if you reserved a share or not. If not, you pay them $25 cash. Then they put a note on your car that you’ve paid noting how many shares you purchased.
Then you wait in line in your car.
It can take about 30 minutes from start to finish. It was about 30 minutes before I got to the other side of the church where food was being loaded into cars. It is very organized and everything moves forward steadily. When I went, there was a big Walmart truck with many volunteers unloading food and organizing it onto tables outside.
You’ll be directed forward and then asked to open your trunk. I did that and then volunteers loaded it up with food.
There were many boxes of food! Here is what was in the trunk the first time I went.
Here’s what I got my first time (in 2020):
Here’s what I got the first time I went:
- A box of frozen omelets with cheese
- A box of green onions (3 bags)
- 6 half gallons of organic chocolate milk
- A case of 9 drinkable yogurts
- A package of 8 Halo Top oatmeal cookie ice creams
- 2 loaves of Sara Lee butter bread
- 2 big bags of Sara Lee white hamburger buns
- A big package of frozen french fries
- A big package of bow tie pasta
- 6 Oatmeal cups
- 4 individual beverages – 2 Bolt24 sports drinks (like Gatorade), a can of Pepsi, a can of Buble water
- 1 box of Captain Crunch cotton candy cereal
- 2 boxes of Enjoy Life soft baked cookies – apple cider donut and peppermint bark
- Aunt Jemima Belgian Waffle mix
- Quaker Chewy Dipps Peanut Butter granola bars
- 1 bag of sunflower seeds
- 3 packages of frozen Johnsonville sausage links
- 1 bag of Lentil chips – thai chili lime flavor (they were a bit spicy)
For a full recap of my first experience visiting my first time, check out my post here:
What Groceries We Got for $20 at Ruby’s Pantry in Bloomington (Minnesota)
The catch?
You may question why the food is so cheap and if it’s any good.
Their website says: “We gather various food overages, surpluses, and bumper crops into generous food bundles for a low $25 contribution.”
The groceries are all good to eat. Some are expired, but may have been frozen by the expiration date. And expired foods aren’t necessarily bad. Some can be consumed just fine after an expiration date.
We haven’t had issues with our food shares. Everything was good.
However, you don’t get to choose what you get. It’s a prepackaged load and everyone gets the same load. So if you have gluten intolerance or other allergies, or don’t eat meat, or avoid certain types of food, it may not be for you. Or, you may be able to use some of it and share the rest with others.
It isn’t enough to feed your family for a month for sure, but you can go to as many locations as you like each month. There is no limit. Each location has one distribution per month.
Locations:
Bloomington too far for you?
There are other Ruby’s Pantry locations!
They include:
Aitkin
Albert Lea
Arden Hills
Bemidji
Burnsville
Cloquet
Duluth
Moorhead
Zumbrota
And many more in Minnesota and Wisconsin and beyond.
Visit the Ruby’s Pantry website for more info!