Coffee sales in Corpus Christi help needy farmers around world

The Rev. James C. McClain (left),
a member of the Board of Church
and Society, serves a cup of freely
traded gourmet coffee to the Rev.
Jay Brown, First UMC, Gonzales.

By Julie A. Wiley
Staff Writer
Southwest Texas leaders helped needy farmers around the world by sipping gourmet coffee last week in Corpus Christi.
The coffee was sold to participants in the June 2-5 Southwest Texas Annual Conference session at the Board of Church and Society display.
“The coffee is very good,” said John Vinson, First UMC, Cedar Park. “I really enjoyed it, and it’s promoting a great cause at the same time.”
“The Coffee for a Good Cause” project is sponsored by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, said Wanda Holcombe, Southwest Texas Conference peace with justice educator.
“Coffee sales go directly to the farmers who grow the coffee,” Holcombe said. “The money raised will help them with education, crops and a variety of other needs. This project is helping to change lives for the better. So far, we’ve sold all the coffee we had available during annual conference, but people can purchase coffee later.”
Coffee is the second most heavily traded commodity in the world, Holcombe said. But for the majority of small coffee farmers, benefits are meager.
“Farmers have little to live on,” Holcombe said. “That’s why we’re helping them raise money to better meet their daily needs.”
Rich Aronson of the Peace with Justice Project said, “Fair trade presents the faith community with a chance to make a real contribution toward the creation of a new life-centered economic mode, one based on the biblical principles of justice, cooperation and sustainability.”
Churches can serve fairly traded coffee, tea and cocoa at their events and for home use, too, Holcombe said.
“People are invited to design fund-raising projects, discuss fair trade issues and order additional resources,” she said. “Every time you sip some of this coffee, you’ll be reminded of how you’re helping meet the needs of others.”
Coffees from Latin America, Africa and Asia are available to United Methodist congregations. A pound of coffee sells for $5 from Equal Exchange. It supplies fairly traded gourmet coffee direct from small-scale farmer cooperatives in various countries.
Equal Exchange was founded in 1986 to create a new approach to trade that included informed consumers, honest and fair trade relationships and cooperative principles.