Ben’s Friends is the food and beverage industry support group offering hope, fellowship, and a path forward to professionals who struggle with substance abuse and addiction.

Founded in honor of Ben Murray, a lifelong chef who took his own life after struggling with alcoholism for years, Ben’s Friends exists to provide a safe haven and an anonymous, judgment-free forum for workers in an industry that has one of the highest rates of substance abuse in the country.

Ben’s Friends models acceptance and gratitude, and though unaffiliated with either AA or NA, shares an important commonality: the only thing you need to bring through the door is a desire to stop drinking or using.

By providing open ears, hearts, and minds — along with many decades of experience with living sober in the food and beverage industry — Ben’s Friends offers a safe and constructive haven for those grappling with and maintaining sobriety. By coming together, by starting a dialogue, and by acknowledging that substance abuse cannot be overcome in isolation or by willpower alone, Ben’s Friends hopes to write a new chapter in the lives of our country’s talented and dedicated food and beverage professionals and prevent tragedies like that of Ben Murray from becoming all too common.