Getting food, rent help, and classes at Neighborhood House in St. Paul, MN
Families in St. Paul turn to Neighborhood House for two urgent needs above all others: food this week and rent money before an eviction. The organization is a multi-service nonprofit on the city's West Side that also runs free English, GED, citizenship, and computer classes, youth programs, and a coaching service that connects people to help across Ramsey County, Minnesota.
This page explains what each program actually provides and the correct phone number for each need, since the organization uses different lines for different services. Every program is free, staff work in multiple languages, and several services are open to anyone regardless of income or paperwork.
Free groceries from the food markets
Neighborhood House runs two food markets, the main one inside the Wellstone Center on Robie Street and a second location on East Maynard Drive. Households may shop in person up to twice a month at the Wellstone market, choosing their own groceries the way they would at a store, with fresh and culturally familiar foods stocked deliberately for the West Side's many communities.
Weekday shopping requires an appointment, booked through the Service Connect line or online, and slots go on a first-come basis. Saturdays run differently: walk-in service with no appointment needed. Households may also pick up one set of walk-up bags each month, two pre-packed grocery bags of staples, with no appointment at all. When supplies allow, the markets may also carry non-food essentials such as adult diapers, hygiene products, household items, and pet food. Questions about the markets go to the dedicated food line at (651) 789-3630, and current hours for both locations are posted on the organization's site.
Produce events with no paperwork at all
Several times a month, Neighborhood House holds free fresh produce distributions that are open to absolutely everyone, with no ID, no documentation, and no income questions. From July through October the events run outdoors at St. Paul locations in a farmers-market style, and from November through May they move indoors at Metro State University.
Visitors typically leave with around 40 pounds of fruits and vegetables, so bringing your own bags and a cart makes the trip easier. First-time visitors complete a short on-site registration that takes a few minutes. Staff may also help households apply for SNAP food benefits and connect seniors with the NAPS monthly food box program. Additional pantry options across the area are covered in the Saint Paul and Ramsey County food pantry guide.
Emergency money to stop an eviction
The Housing Stability program exists to prevent evictions and homelessness, and it may provide direct emergency financial assistance for rent, damage deposits, mortgage payments, and utility bills. Staff also work unusual requests that other programs turn away, following a housing-first approach built on the idea that nothing else stabilizes until housing does.
Assistance is for Ramsey County residents who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, and income limits apply, so review the current criteria at https://neighborhoodhousemn.org/housing-stability-application/ rather than ruling yourself out. A Social Security number is not required to apply. Funds are generally available to a household only once in a 12-to-18-month window, which makes it worth applying when the crisis is real rather than testing the waters early. The program can be reached directly at (651) 789-2547 or [email protected], and other rent programs in the area are listed in the St. Paul and Ramsey County rental assistance guide.
If you already have court papers
A summons to Ramsey County eviction or housing court is not the end of the road, and the single most important step is attending the virtual hearing. Once logged in, tenants may request clinic services, which connect them during the hearing itself to providers offering financial help, legal advice, and mediation options.
Neighborhood House staff may attend housing court virtually and work alongside county emergency assistance programs, community action partners, and legal aid organizations such as SMRLS to help tenants and landlords reach a resolution. A caseworker who knows which fund can pay what, standing in the process with you, changes how these hearings end.
Help finding a new home
For households already without housing or forced to move, the free Housing Search service locates available units for families experiencing homelessness, eviction, or instability. The online application takes roughly 15 to 30 minutes, and staff make contact within three business days.
The housing team may also mediate disputes between tenants and landlords and conduct housing inspections. Beyond the Wellstone Center, Neighborhood House operates six Family Centers around St. Paul where residents may get food support and help getting into housing, with locations listed on the organization's website.
Free classes for adults and programs for kids
The lifelong learning side of Neighborhood House teaches adults English through practical life-skills lessons on health, housing, work, and money, along with GED preparation, U.S. citizenship classes, and computer classes covering internet, email, and Microsoft Office, with open lab time to practice. All classes are free, which removes the usual barrier to adult education.
Children and teens ages 6 to 18 have a safe after-school and summer space with homework help, camps, and creative programming, plus a dedicated youth literacy program. Younger families may join early childhood offerings, including the Skills for School preschool program and parent education visits. Adults from the Latino community can also join a leadership program built around developing their own leadership style, and around the start of the school year, donated school supplies may be distributed to St. Paul students.
Apply - Contact Neighborhood House
The main building is the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center at 179 Robie Street East, St. Paul, MN 55107, with a free parking ramp on the west side of the building. The main line is (651) 789-2500, and building hours shift with holidays and programming, so check https://neighborhoodhousemn.org before making the trip.
Neighborhood House was founded in 1897 by the women of Mount Zion Temple to help Eastern European Jewish refugee families settle in St. Paul, and it has served each new wave of immigrants and refugees since, now reaching thousands of people each year from dozens of cultural communities at its locations across the city. The organization also hosts monthly resource hubs connecting immigrants and refugees with legal clinics and other support. A household whose needs reach beyond one agency can find the area's full range of programs in the Ramsey County guide to getting help.
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