Equal Exchange Coffee

The following text is provided by Equal Exchange regarding the fair trade coffee we have available in Hadley Hall after services:

When we serve Equal Exchange coffee during Fellowship Hour or sell it after services or for the holidays, we’re making a strong statement about our values as a community. We’re proclaiming that our congregation believes that it’s vital to keep small farmers on the land providing food for their families and having some economic control over their lives; that it’s important to work with indigenous producers and women; that sustainable agricultural methods are a vital way to address climate change.  

In 1986 when Equal Exchange launched its organization, it helped to join a network of coffee farmers who were organized into cooperatives by Catholic priests trying to assist poor people to overcome poverty. It was a solidarity movement known as “Liberation Theology.” By working directly with democratically run small farmer cooperatives and offering fair prices and pre-harvest financing, Equal Exchange saw that it could be part of an international movement that was improving small producers’ access to worldwide markets so that they could survive and thrive.  

Equal Exchange started its path with coffee from Nicaragua. Today, it partners with 24 farmer groups in 11 countries which produce high-quality organic coffees. EE purchases about 5.5 million pounds of green coffee beans each year from its partners to roast and sell to U.S. coffee drinkers. Equal Exchange buys exclusively from small-scale farmer cooperatives and associations. The farmers who produce Equal Exchange organic beans are committed to providing U.S. consumers with the highest quality coffee experience.

Our congregation is proud to serve a brew that is both delicious and reflects our values of social justice. By choosing this fairly traded coffee, you are supporting a whole separate ethical supply chain—not huge corporations. Enjoy it at church, buy some to bring home, share it with friends.