Bean's Cafe Hosts Traditional Potluck

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hundreds of people attended a special potluck at Bean's Cafe Sunday afternoon. Heartbeat Alaska partnered with Bean's Cafe to host a "Native Food Feast Potluck."

"A nice open atmosphere of people enjoying their own Native food," said the cafe's executive director, Jim Crockett.

The potluck featured caribou and moose stew, seal, muktuk and fish head soup.

"I like to think of it as coating your throat and your tummy and your insides with hope," said Heartbeat Alaska Executive Producer Jeanie Greene.

People from all across the state were invited to the potluck. Traditional foods are only served once a year at most at the cafe.

According to Crockett, Bean's is serving more working poor this year than previous years. Starting any day now, it will open its doors to house the winter overflow crowd from the Brother Francis Shelter.

"People bring their knapsack, the only thing they really have -- maybe one black garbage bag -- over here and sleep," Crockett said.