Our Purpose

Laughing Bear Bakery is a St. Louis non-profit work skills reintegration program for ex-offenders who are working very hard to start a new life. At Laughing Bear, these men and women receive on-the-job training in a commercial kitchen, learning to create a wide array of delicious treats that we sell across the metropolitan St. Louis area.

Every year, thousands of men and women are released from state and federal prisons and returned to their communities without a job, a car, a home, and without an income to help replace all those basic necessities of life. Yet, society asks - demands - of them that they hit the ground running, as if they can do it on their own. Statistics prove that without the security of a job, these men and women are more than likely to give up trying to supply their own food, clothing, shelter and transportation, and find themselves back in prison. For the safety of our communities and for the greater good of everyone - we are called to step up and help these men and women reset their lives. LAUGHING BEAR BAKERY is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and we need your tax-deductible donation to continue the mission of providing on-the-job, paid training and work experience for ex-offenders. We've been at this since 2015 and our track record is successful. To-date - we know of only one of our bakers who returned to prison. That is a statistic that proves that paid employment is critical to the goal of ending recidivism for good.