Lots of Northwest beverage companies make it a priority to give back to their communities. Eugene, Ore.’s Ninkasi just won a 2014 Good Food Award for their Believer Double Red Ale coupled with their ongoing sustainability efforts. Cinder Wines of Garden City, Idaho works with a local food bank, local arts programs, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County.
With coffee, giving back seems engrained in the culture. Part of it stems from an ever-growing industry-wide awareness of the coffee itself: we want to know where and how it was grown, and that a fair price was paid for it, because we know the right practices can make a big difference. That awareness translates into a culture of giving back to the community in myriad ways. Here are five coffee shops doing their part.
Flying M, Boise & Nampa, Idaho: Besides providing two spaces—a coffeehouse and a coffee “garage”—for Idaho arts and music to flourish, Flying M has put on a silent auction to raise money for local citizens living with AIDS every February since 1993. This year’s Valentine’s for AIDS bidding closed yesterday.
Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Seattle: The lone out-of-state outpost of Alaska-based Kaladi Brothers Coffee shares a space with the Gay City Health Project on Capitol Hill and provides a free meeting room for non-religious, non-political non-profits.
Talkin Donkey, Vernon, BC: For the past two years, non-profit coffee house Talkin Donkey has been selling socially-conscious food, espresso and fair-trade products working to raise money for victims of human trafficking. The goal? $25,000.
Broadway Coffeehouse, Salem, Ore.: From time to time, Broadway Coffeehouse takes a portion of its proceeds, writes a check to any one of various local non-profits it sees as “working to make the world as it should be,” and drives over to drop it off.
Cortona Café, Seattle: In the fall of 2009, friends Will Little and Brian Wells (the latter of nearby Tougo Coffee Company) founded Cortona Café in the middle of Seattle’s diverse Central District. Once up and running, they donated the little coffeehouse to non-profit Cortona Community. Today it provides community programming and meeting space plus jobs and related training to local youth, especially those struggling in school.
