Sweet Second Chances 🍪❤️

Post-Prison Bakery Jobs

Good News Good Planet

Jan 24, 2025

∙ Paid

Finding work after being incarcerated can often make the difference between a changed life 🙌 or a return trip to prison.

The stigma of a criminal record is often a huge hindrance to employment 🛑.

So, former prison chaplain Kalen McAllister started the Laughing Bear Bakery 🐻🍪 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Launched in 2015, McAllister started the pastry shop with no customers, equipment, or supplies.

After some initial fundraising 💰, she was able to rent a kitchen in a church basement ⛪, and hired her first employees, all with criminal backgrounds.

Since then, the bakery has opened up its own storefront 🏠 with its own signature recipes 📖 and hires only ex-cons to work there.

Employees typically work 2 to 4 days a week at above minimum wage 💵. McAllister herself doesn’t draw a paycheck 💸.

Nationwide, more programs are emerging to teach former inmates skills to thrive in the workplace 🤝 as they build better lives 🌟, ultimately reducing the likelihood of a return trip to prison.

Businesses like Dave’s Killer Bread 🍞 in Oregon, which was founded by a former convict, have created foundations devoted to giving former felons a helping hand ✨.