Bean’s Cafe began with a simple vision: Create a place where people in need can find comfort, warmth, and a helping hand. Professor and humanitarian, Lynn Ballew, founded our organization with this vision in mind.
In 1977, Lynn and her daughter (nicknamed Bean) moved to Alaska. Two years later in 1979, Lynn leased an empty warehouse to serve as a day shelter for people who were hungry and homeless. A team of volunteers - including individuals experiencing homelessness - stepped in to help paint and remodel the facility. The empty warehouse was transformed into a center where people without homes could come to eat, rest, read, watch TV, make phone calls, and just relax. The center was dubbed Bean’s Cafe.
In 1985, organizational growth and support from the community presented Bean’s Cafe with the opportunity to relocate to a brand-new facility right in the heart of downtown, allowing for further advancement of our programs and services.
In 1998, Kid's Cafe, a non-profit organization feeding at risk children in the Anchorage area, was in search of a stable, responsible board of directors. Bean's Cafe immediately realized that their mission of feeding the hungry should extend to children of our community. This sparked a vision of "prevention" and Kid's Cafe became a program of Bean's Cafe. In 2004, Kid's Cafe was renamed The Children's Lunchbox.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented needs for both food and shelter. Bean’s Cafe responded to requests to help meet these needs. We operated a temporary shelter where we provided 24-hour support for up to 400 people per day.
In 2023, we purposefully began utilizing one of our larger buildings, renovated the kitchen and expanded our warehouse to create what is now the third largest commercial kitchen in Alaska. With the fully renovated kitchen and larger warehouse, we now have the capacity to make up to 10,000 meals each day and store up to 40,000 pantry packs at a time. 2023 also saw the addition of a new venture for Bean’s through a therapeutic community called Streets to Success. While we are committed to continuing our efforts to meet emergencies and feed those in need, we recognize the importance of addressing the root causes of homelessness.
Bean’s Cafe has served the Anchorage community continuously and has grown significantly during the last 45 years. We moved to better-equipped facilities within the community to enable us to expand the range of services we provide. Bean’s Cafe will continue to fight hunger for all ages, one meal at a time, while also providing dignified pathways to self-sufficiency.
Bean’s Cafe began with a simple vision: Create a place where people in need can find comfort, warmth, and a helping hand. Professor and humanitarian, Lynn Ballew, founded our organization with this vision in mind.
In 1977, Lynn and her daughter (nicknamed Bean) moved to Alaska. Two years later in 1979, Lynn leased an empty warehouse to serve as a day shelter for people who were hungry and homeless. A team of volunteers - including individuals experiencing homelessness - stepped in to help paint and remodel the facility. The empty warehouse was transformed into a center where people without homes could come to eat, rest, read, watch TV, make phone calls, and just relax. The center was dubbed Bean’s Cafe.
In 1985, organizational growth and support from the community presented Bean’s Cafe with the opportunity to relocate to a brand-new facility right in the heart of downtown, allowing for further advancement of our programs and services.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented needs for both food and shelter. Bean’s Cafe responded to requests to help meet these needs. We operated a temporary shelter where we provided 24-hour support for up to 400 people per day. We also launched our Children’s Lunchbox program in 2020. Through this program, we provide boxed meals for entire families.
In 2023, we shifted operations to our larger building, expanded our warehouse and fully renovated our kitchen which now stands as the third largest commercial kitchen in Alaska. With the fully renovated kitchen and larger warehouse, we now have the capacity to feed up to 1,200 children and adults each day and store up to 40,000 shelf- stable pantry packs at a time. 2023 also saw the addition of a new venture for Bean’s through a therapeutic community. While we are committed to continuing our efforts to meet emergency needs and feed those in need, we recognize the importance of addressing the root causes of homelessness. For this reason, 2023 also saw the official launch of our Streets to Success program.
Bean’s Cafe has served the Anchorage community continuously and has grown significantly during the last 45 years. We moved to better-equipped facilities within the community to enable us to expand the range of services we provide. Bean’s Cafe will continue to fight hunger for all ages, one meal at a time, while also providing dignified pathways to self-sufficiency.
Bean’s Cafe Administration Offices
1020 E. 4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501
907.433.8601
info@beanscafe.org
Bean’s Cafe Kitchen and Warehouse
1524 Ship Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501
Scott Lingle, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
907.433.8601 | slingle@beanscafe.org
Fony Imawan, Director of Finance
907.433.8620 | finance@beanscafe.org
Cassie Lingle, Human Resources Manager
907.297.5606 | hr@beanscafe.org
Kate Matheson, Director of Development & Community Relations
907.433.8604 | kmatheson@beanscafe.org
Aaron Dollison, Food Services Operations Manager
907.917.9080 | adollison@beanscafe.org
Rochelle Wonhola, Executive Assistant
907.433.8601 | rwonhola@beanscafe.org
Ladda Keovilayhong, Volunteer Coordinator
907.433.8610 | lkeovilayhong@beanscafe.org
Alyssa Faircloth, Communications Manager
907.433.8601 | afaircloth@beanscafe.org
Kyle Gardner, Program Manager for Streets to Success
907.538.7049 | kgardner@beanscafe.org
Our Mission: Bean’s Cafe exists to fight hunger and homelessness one meal at a time.
CONTACT US: (907) 433 -8601
Location: 1020 E. 4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501
EIN: 92-0072522