Building Update – Aug 12, 2020
Thank you for your continued support.
Building Update – July 1, 2020
Bean’s Cafe has been in the news lately. We want to give a status update that accurately reflects what is happening in the organization.
Since 1979 Bean’s Cafe has consistently provided food and shelter to the hungry and homeless in Anchorage. Since that first day in 1979 Bean’s Cafe has dedicated itself to fighting hunger one meal at a time while providing pathways to self-sufficiency with dignity and respect.
When COVID-19 guidelines from CDC came out regarding congregate shelter, it was immediately realized that our current shelter model in Anchorage was not adequate. The requirement to have six feet of separation was simply not possible with the existing shelter building.
On March 22, at the request of the Municipality of Anchorage, Bean’s Cafe agreed to dramatically increase services and moved all client operations to the Sullivan Arena and Ben Boeke Ice Arenas. After successfully navigating over 180 clients out of emergency shelter, we were able to consolidate all operations within the Sullivan Arena so the Ben Boeke Ice Arena could return to its original purpose.
In order to accommodate a completely different food delivery model, Bean’s Cafe ramped up meal production and calls for donated food items. The entire facility on 3rd Avenue is now a meal production facility. The dining area that used to house clients, tables and chairs, is now packed with donated food and meal prep tables. In fact, we have produced over 50,000 meals since March 21for our clients receiving services at the Sullivan arena.
With a rented U-haul trailer, our kitchen staff now deliver over 300 breakfasts, lunches and dinners to be served at Sullivan Arena every day. Although clients are not being directly served at our 3rd Avenue location, we are still operating the building at full speed.
As the Municipality of Anchorage and our entire community work together to find a path forward to address homelessness, addiction and mental health, the Municipality inquired into the possibility of acquiring the Bean’s Cafe building, which we own. The Bean’s Cafe board of directors unanimously agreed to order a building appraisal with the clear understanding it did not mean we are, or would be, interested in selling our current site. We are still very early in the process of considering the multiple options to best serve the needs of our clients and community.
While we are exploring our possibilities, we are always committed to providing food and finding services to end the cycle of homelessness within our community. Any change of location will only enhance our central mission and will not change despite the location of our building and shelter services.
Our current building has many stories of hope and success, and we will continue to find those stories wherever the services of Bean’s Cafe are located in our community. We look forward to collaborating with the Municipality, other homeless service providers and our many neighbors to find the solutions to best help our clients.
Thank you for your continued support.
Watch our video below for an update!