Together
Presbyterian Coffee Project
by Patricia LLoyd-Sidle
It's no secret that when two or three Presbyterians gather,
there is usually a pot of coffee nearby. Who could possibly count
the number of meetings held, plans made, projects completed,
prayers said, Bible passages studied, letters written and friendships
strengthened over cups of coffee?
Presbyterians are beginning to realize that our collective coffee
consumption gives us economic power. Consider these facts:
- 20 percent of all the coffee grown in the world is consumed
in the United States.
- Coffee is the second most heavily traded commodity in the
world, after oil.
- 20 million people in the world depend on coffee for their
livelihood.
- Workers who grow the coffee beans receive only a small fraction
of the dollar we spend on a cup of coffee. The rest goes to middlemen,
brokers and marketers.
The Presbyterian Coffee Project is part of the program, Enough
for Everyone: Global Discipleship. Presbyterian Women has joined
with several other partners to initiate this program. Enough
for Everyone offers Presbyterians the opportunity to help people
in need through actions related to sweatshops, debt and credit,
and environmental degradation as well as fair trade.
 "When economic globalization
causes some of God's children to suffer," says Marian McClure,
director of Worldwide Ministries, "we can show God's love
in concrete ways by our lifestyle choices as congregations and
individuals."
"We work with Equal Exchange," explains project manager
Melanie Hardison, "an employee-owned company that purchases
coffee and tea according to fair trade practices." Through
fair trade, farmers earn a fair share of the income from their
coffee. Furthermore, they are guaranteed long- term, trustworthy
trade partners. Equal Exchange buys its coffee directly from
farmer- owned cooperatives. In addition to basic fair trade practices,
Equal Exchange provides training and development assistance to
farmer co-operatives.
- To order coffee or educational resources from Equal Exchange,
call 781/830-0303, ext. 228 or visit www.equalexchange.com.
- For more information on The Presbyterian Coffee Project,
contact Melanie Hardison, 888/728-7228, ext. 5626 or at mhardiso@ctr.pcusa.org.
Patricia Lloyd-Sidle is the coordinator for global awareness
and involvement, Worldwide Ministries Division, PC(USA).
Read more of this and other
great articles in the current issue of Horizons.
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