Saturday, September 29, 2018

Just One Cup Challenge on National Coffee Day

The truth is, there was nothing free, quick, or easy about the journey that coffee took to wind up in your hands. Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee every day. In a grab-and-go culture, it’s easy to forget that coffee farmers across the globe face hardships every day like extreme poverty, food and water shortages, vulnerability to climate change and disease, volatile market prices and middle men, and labor rights abuse.​ The good news? You can take part in a coffee story that doesn’t end there by seeking the Fair Trade seal when you shop.
With every cup of Fair Trade Certified coffee, additional money is paid back to Fair Trade coffee farmers in the form of Community Development Funds. Together, we can send $2 million to much-needed projects in coffee producing communities if we all drink #JustOneCup of Fair Trade coffee on National Coffee Day.​

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Mama Tierra

With Fair Trade Month just around the corner, it's time to celebrate the unique partnership of Catholic Relief Services and Equal Exchange. Out of this partnership comes Mama Tierra, a Fair Trade Organic Coffee from Oaxaca, Mexico. Farmers are paid a fair price for their coffee, establish long term contracts and invest in community development projects. CRS helps the same farmers protect their local water sources from coffee waste water contamination. This helps to strengthen coffee farming communities and ensure they can produce coffee for years to come.