Each morning before the sun rises and warms up the city, a little nook in the side of Little Cheerful Cafe cracks its door open to a line of people waiting for a hot cup of coffee.
The Coffee Closet is in its second year of operation, open from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. November to March. It’s run by volunteers who give out free coffee to anyone who stops by. On Wednesday evenings, Little Cheerful Cafe’s soup kitchen also gives out burritos to anyone who needs one.
The Coffee Closet was started to help people without housing in the winter, but anyone can get coffee; the volunteers don’t ask questions. Sometimes, city employees working early hours stop by for a cup.
Volunteer Sheila Mills estimated that the Coffee Closet sees about 50 people most days, and sometimes there will already be a line of people waiting when they open.
Before the Coffee Closet, people used to come into Little Cheerful Cafe and ask for a cup of coffee to warm up in the colder months. They wouldn’t be refused, but sometimes servers would get overwhelmed on busy days, so they started the Coffee Closet as a solution, according to community outreach coordinator Don Bates.
Everything from the Coffee Closet is donated by various people or businesses in Bellingham, including the coffee and sugar. The volunteers try to bring in pastries like muffins or brownie bites to give out with the coffee, and sometimes they’ll even have bagels donated from the Bagelry.
“Little things, like a hot cup of coffee — it helps,” Coffee Closet customer John Sobczak said.
The needs of people without housing change drastically in the winter. Everything becomes more urgent, and shelter becomes critical, Lighthouse Mission Ministries staff member Torrance Atkinson said.
Lighthouse Mission Ministries is one of the only shelters in Bellingham, and they see a noticeable increase in injuries and health problems during the winter, such as hypothermia and respiratory issues. People without shelter may prioritize temporary warmth over seeking out services, resources and benefits meant to help them long term, Atkinson said.
“Just a simple, ‘hello,’ ‘good morning,’ and a cup of coffee can change a lot of people’s lives,” he said.
Little Cheerful Cafe’s soup kitchen has run for more than a dozen years, and is open for about 11 months of the year. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., volunteers walk around downtown Bellingham and hand out food. They handed out meals on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the day before Thanksgiving.
Currently, volunteers hand out burritos with rice, beans, cheese and some kind of protein. They try to make “food from the world,” Bates said, so in the past they’ve also made soup, shawarma, Moroccan and Cuban food.
Little Cheerful Cafe accepts donations for their soup kitchen, Coffee Closet and clothing bin in the cafe. They have a need for every type of donation, but cash is best, because they know how to make it stretch, Bates said.
Noelle Reger (she/her) is a second-year journalism student and city life reporter for The Front this quarter. When she's not reading or writing, she can usually be found gambling at the claw machines in Sharetea. You can reach her at noellereger.thefront@gmail.com.
