What is Fair Trade coffee you ask? Quoting from the Green Mountain Coffee Web site (www.GreenMountainCoffee.com): “Fair Trade guarantees farmers a fair price which means they can afford to feed their families, keep their kids in school and invest in the quality of their coffee.” The Green Mountain Coffee folks go on to explain:
Fair Trade is an innovative, market-based approach to sustainable development. Fair Trade helps family farmers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By learning how to market their harvests, Fair Trade farmers are able to bootstrap their businesses and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to higher family living standards, thriving communities and more sustainable farming practices. Your choice to purchase Fair Trade Certified™ coffee empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.
Speaking of Green Mountain Coffee, several weeks ago I was invited to officiate at my nephew’s wedding in Rhode Island. Shirley and I drove to the Ocean State via way of Vermont. While in Vermont we visited the Green Mountain Coffee Company’s headquarters in Waterbury, Vermont. Waterbury is also the original home of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. We visited those facilities as well. Both organizations are examples of companies doing business with socially and environmentally responsible business practices as a core value of their business model.
Speaking of coffee, did you know we served coffee and cookies to the some 1200 folks who voted at Platte Woods Church in last week’s general election? Jeff Denton coordinated the provision of approximately 80 dozen cookies (954 to be exact) and 5 pots of our 100-cup coffee brewers. Thanks to Jeff and all those who baked cookies.
Coffee and cookies are part of Platte Wood Church’s “radical hospitality.”
