Every day, you can change the world just by buying a cup of coffee.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Vermont is making a new organic coffee called Heifer Hope Blend. The sales of this coffee will help small-scale coffee farmers in Guatemala live better lives. Heifer International, a non-profit group that works to fight hunger around the world, will get 40 cents from each bag sold.
Through their partnership, Heifer and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters will be able to help poor farmers in the La Voz area of San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala, and other places in the country.
The price of coffee is so low right now that many small farmers can't make a living off of it. Farmers at La Voz will learn how to grow certified organic, shade-grown premium coffee with the help of Heifer. Then, Green Mountain Coffee will buy the coffee from the farmers at fair-trade prices, which guarantee the farmers a wage that is higher than what they would get on the regular market. The coffee will then be roasted and packaged as Heifer Hope Blend.
Farmers will get a higher price for their crops, and Heifer will be able to help more poor families.
With the money made by Heifer Hope Blend, Heifer will also help coffee-growing families get more income by giving them cows, goats, and other farm animals that make money. This extra money means that food, housing, health care, and education will all be better.
Since 1944, Heifer has helped tens of millions of poor families move toward independence by giving them animals.
giving them livestock and teaching them how to farm in a way that is good for the environment. Then, Heifer asks the families to "pass on the gift" by giving the babies of their animals to other families in need. This helps whole communities get out of poverty.
Green Mountain Coffee has promised to be a good corporate citizen and take care of the environment.
as well as putting aside 5% of its pre-tax profits every year to help charities.
Heifer's director of corporate partnerships, Cynthia Hester, said, "We are really excited to work with companies like Green Mountain Coffee that care about people and the environment." "Nonprofits need to find new ways to get businesses to bring their values into the nonprofit world."
