By Lisa Sauder and Rose King
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Aaron Dollison, a chef at Bean’s Cafe, laughs while mingling with clients at Bean’s Cafe. Dollison learned to cook in bulk while serving a federal prison sentence. When released, a number of potential employers turned him away. By hiring Dollison, Bean’s gave him a second chance. Now he strives to be a role model for all clients, some of whom are homeless, others just down on their luck. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
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First Lady of Alaska, Donna Walker, greets a client from the serving line. She regularly volunteers at both Bean’s Cafe and The Children’s Lunchbox.
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Bean’s Cafe staff member, Carlos Villaneuva, organizes items in the dry good storage room. An average of 800 meals are served a day – almost all the food is donated.
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Ginger Okumoto, center, kitchen coordinator for Children’s Lunchbox, works with volunteers to provide 300,000 meals to hungry children annually. The program provides meals at no cost to needy children through various other community organizations and offers a weekend backpack food program. Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News.
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Bean’s Cafe monitor George McBee signs up clients for volunteer jobs. Each day, client volunteers complete over 100 chores such as kitchen prep, serving meals, and mopping floors. In return for their hard work, they receive a goody bag with food. In 2014, Bean’s Cafe clients volunteered over 100,000 hours of time to the program. Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News.
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Executive Director, Lisa Sauder, and client services coordinator, Becky Hogan, chat with two clients and a housing outreach worker from Rural Alaska Community Action Program. Today these clients are housed through Homeward Bound, a program that offers resources to homeless individuals dealing with chronic alcoholism. This year alone, almost 70 clients have been placed in a variety of housing programs.
Former staff member, Staci Feger-Pellessier hugs long-time client, Art Ivanoff, offering a little encouragement. Bean’s Cafe provides more than just food. Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News
In 1978, professor Lynn Ballew moved to Anchorage, Alaska with her daughter Leesie, nicknamed “Bean.” Touched by so many in need of food and housing, she reached out to the local community to start a shelter, which she named Bean’s Cafe.
Her vision? Build a place for the homeless and hungry to eat, rest, or just relax. In February of the following year, Ballew leased an empty warehouse across from the Sheraton in downtown Anchorage. The first to arrive were the street people – they helped paint, remodel, arrange furniture, and organize the space. Word spread and soon Bean’s Cafe was a vision realized: a cozy place where those in need could find comfort, warmth, and a helping hand. In 1985, Bean’s Cafe relocated to a larger building to accommodate the growing need.
Today Bean’s Cafe operates as a day shelter that serves breakfast and lunch 365 days a year. It offers referrals to clients who need housing, jobs, medical care, mental health and addiction treatment, veteran services, and financial counseling. One of their programs, “The Children’s Lunchbox” provides meals at no cost to children through various other community organizations, such as after-school programs, a center for troubled teens, and housing nonprofit organizations. The number of meals often doubles in the summer, when kids don’t have access to school lunches.
n addition, the client services office of Bean’s Cafe provides free mail service for all clients, small hygiene products such as toothbrushes, nail clippers, and vitamins, as well as necessary essentials including gloves, hats, and eyeglasses. Executive Director Lisa Sauder, who took charge in 2013, is a native Alaskan who has been deeply involved in the nonprofit community for decades.
