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Equal Exchange Opens Eco-Cafe by North Station |
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Local Fair Trade, Organic Coffee Roaster Brings the Hub Closer To the Source
Boston, Massachusetts – February 10th, 2009 – Equal Exchange, the local coffee importer and roaster best known for their organic, fairly traded coffees, teas and chocolates is now bringing Boston even closer to the small-scale farmers behind these daily pleasures by opening a new café at 226 Causeway Street, just 100 yards from North Station. The café is Equal Exchange's first ever full-scale café and marks the company's return to Boston, where the company was founded 23 years ago.
To mark the occasion Equal Exchange has scheduled three days of special activities at the café and in the surrounding neighborhood, including coffee 'cuppings', coffee and chocolate pairings, lessons on how best to brew coffee at home, raffles, door prizes, live music, and an invitation-only event for the residents and workers in the building where the café is located.
In an increasingly globalized, disconnected economy that is characterized by huge corporate profits, products of unknown origin and tainted foods, the Equal Exchange Café is a big step in the other direction. The connection between the café's customers and the coffee farmers and tea growers could not be more direct. For example, farmers' co-operatives process and ship the coffee to Equal Exchange, who roast it, brew it, and serve it to the customer. The link to the tea growers is just as short and transparent, and the public can read about Equal Exchange's international farmer partners at www.EqualExchange.coop/farmer-partners and their U.S. farmer partners at www.EqualExchange.coop/dft.
Similarly, the cocoa, chocolate, sugar and snacks at the café are all sourced from small-scale farmers around the world by Equal Exchange on a Fair Trade basis. The café's baked goods, prepared foods and milk are all sourced from small, local enterprises such as Somerville's Petsi Pies, many of whom will be participating in the opening festivities.
It is the hope of Equal Exchange that the café will create an opportunity to engage with the public more closely than ever before and encourage people to become better informed and more involved in how the world's food is grown and brought to market.
Additionally, great attention has been paid to minimize the café's environmental impact. The coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar are all certified organic. Besides eliminating the use of toxic chemicals and other unsustainable farming practices scientific studies indicate that organic farming can significantly help to reduce global warming. The café has a comprehensive recycling and composting program with Charlestown-based Save That Stuff, who will also participate in the opening. Many of the materials used to build the café were chosen for their ecological characteristics, such as the extensive use of reclaimed wood.
Equal Exchange Co-President Rob Everts, who helped launch the café and even pulls an occasional shift as a barista, described the café's significance this way:
"In the midst of a twin-barreled economic and environmental meltdown that has been brought on by short-term thinking and Wall Street greed it's reassuring to be able to buck the trend, expand our small company, create new jobs and offer the community examples of the kinds of practices that will be necessary to sustain all businesses in the future. These business choices include sourcing fairly traded goods from small farmers who have a self interest in maintaining healthy communities; opting for fresh products made daily by local artisan vendors; and using your business as a living classroom for environmental sustainability."
The Equal Exchange Café – Details
226 Causeway Street (between the TD Banknorth Garden and North Washington Street)
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
www.equalexchangecafe.com
Free Wi-fi
About Equal Exchange:
A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa and healthy snacks. Major customers include Harvest Cooperative Markets, Shaw's, Roche Brothers, Whole Foods, and Hannaford, as well as City Feed, Ten Thousand Villages, other grocery retailers, restaurants, and thousands of places of worship nationwide. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 40 small farmer co-operatives in 22 countries around the world. In keeping with its Fair Trade mission and belief in economic democracy Equal Exchange is a worker co-operative, owned and governed by its approximately 100 employees.
Contact:
Rodney North
774-776-7398
rodney@equalexchange.coop
Equal Exchange
50 United Drive, West Bridgewater, MA 02379
www.EqualExchange.coop (main site)
www.SmallFarmersBigChange.coop (blog)
Digital photographs available upon request
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