ST. LOUIS — “If you notice, it says ‘Bridge Bread: Hope in the baking,’ but it is more than just hope in the baking, it is a hope in me now,” says Reginald E. Greer, employee of Bridge Bread Bakery.
“It is more than a friendship,” says Andre Robinson, employee of Bridge Bread Bakery. “They are like a step mom and dad to me, they have gotten me out of jail before, like they are family to me.”
Located off of Cherokee Street, lies Bridge Bread Bakery, but this cozy, warm kitchen goes beyond your usual flour and dough.
“Everyone has heard the expression ‘if you give man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime,’ but that only works if you give him a fishing pole and a boat,” says Fred Domke, owner of Bridge Bread Bakery.
Bridge Bread Bakery is a nonprofit who strives to employ individuals experiencing homelessness and provide them with marketable skills and reliable employment. Employees earn a living wage while learning or re-learning the value of being self-sufficient, even having a social worker on staff to help.
“I get to find out what is going on in their day, they come in, they have a nickname for me, we chat, but then they also come to me when they need help,” says Rachel Hensold, social worker at Bridge Bread Bakery.
Fred Domke and his wife Sharon first started the bakery in 2011. However, the duo has always had a heart for giving, spending their time volunteering at local shelters before they decided they wanted to do more.
“After doing that, we started thinking about wouldn't it be nice if instead of making it more comfortable for people to be homeless, we found ways to help them be not homeless,” says Domke.
“Fred I call him Papa Fred, anything I want to know, I can ask him, his door is always open,” says Greer.
“If you are someone who is down on your luck, there really is hardly anything out there, getting a job without an address, without recent references or recent work history is really daunting, so we meet our bakers where they are,” says Domke. “And we try to help them along the way to get back on track.”
Employment at Bridge Bread Bakery is not just a paycheck, it is the relationships, too. Andre was one of the first bakers in 2011; after parting from Fred and Sharon, he returned back to Bridge Bread years later. Because for him, this place, and these people, are home.
“I cannot explain it because I get sensitive about it, and I do not want to cry,” says Andre. “But that is my motivation to come in and work, because the life I lived I do not want to go back, so I just try to stay motivated and stay confident and just want to come and work.”
Shopping these delicious pastries sure does satisfy your sweet tooth, but, it also supports a family. A family who wants to remind everyone in this community to never give up.
“I am moving to my own place this month, the love and companionship you feel here, fills you with a hope you would never think existed,” says Greer.
Because after all, there is hope in the baking.
“Don’t give up, here at Bridge Bread, hope is more than just in the baking it is in us,” says Greer. “They encourage us to be the best person you can be, and I am a prime example.”
Learn further information at bridgebread.org.