Laura Evans Mahn,
Founder, Executive Director
Hi. I’m Rev. Laura Evans Mahn, founder of NEST Café (Nourish Everyone Sustainably Together) and I’m excited to invite you to be nourished.
Several years ago, having pastored churches and worked in a variety of nonprofit organizations, a vague idea began to form in my mind. It was constantly bumping into the connection between the food we eat and our well-being. I watched people I cared about eat nothing but packaged, highly processed foods from convenience store shelves, from fast food restaurants or from soup kitchens because that was what was available to them. Many of them were struggling with medical issues, such as diabetes or heart disease. The food that their money or time allowed them to eat was filling their bellies but making their health (and therefore their financial) situations worse. Meanwhile, other people I cared about were sitting down at tables, spending time together, eating fresh vegetables and fruits, sustainably raised meats, and local dairy products because they had the time and money to afford them. Couldn’t there be some sort of balance that would allow all these people to eat together? Shouldn’t everyone have the chance to not just eat, but be nourished?
The idea began to take shape as I imagined a restaurant where everyone could eat really good, nutritious food, whether they could pay for it or not. I thought I was BRILLIANT! It turns out, there are a lot of brilliant people out there – a whole network of them! I eventually discovered One World Everybody Eats, a network of pay-what-you-can restaurants around the U.S. that is committed to the very same principles I was dreaming about. Soon, the first little twigs of NEST Café were being knit together.
Amazing things can happen around a table. I look forward to sharing some of those experiences with you.
Meet our Café Manager, Mel Hurley!
My name is Mel and I am absolutely thrilled to be coming to NEST Café. A native of Sterling, I have been working in both food and social service spaces since graduating college in 2015. NEST Cafe is the perfect combination of two things I love, nutritious food and making sustainable connections in community.
Meet our Director of Culinary Operations (DOCO), Chef Elly Vos!
“Joining NEST as DOCO is so exciting because I have the opportunity to create delicious and nutritious meals for guests of all means.” NEST’s community, credibility, and pay-what-you-can model are all aspects that excite Chef Elly as she begins to develop the Spring menu.”
The upcoming menu will feature the freshest ingredients with vegetarian and gluten free options. Elly is developing relationships with local farmers and community members to source locally. Guests can look forward to items such as seasonal vegetable stir fry, Iowa grits with greens and black-eyed peas, and an Illinois strawberry salad.
We hope you'll help us welcome Chef Elly! See you in April!
Beth Samuelson is our Baker extraordinaire! Beth puts a lot of love into everything she bakes and it makes ALL the difference!
Board of Directors
Katie Thompson, President
Andrea Parer, Director
Thurgood Brooks, Vice President
Sergio Mendoza, Director
Daryl Empen, Treasurer
Diane Kinser, Director
Nina Struss, Secretary
Cecilia Ortega, Director
