"One of the things for which I am grateful is Equal Exchange, and your Coffee Project which enables us to put our UU principles of justice and fairness to work in a concrete way."

- Sara Anderson, UUSC Liaison, UU Church of Arlington, in Arlington, VA

Through the UUSC Coffee Project, a collaboration between UUSC and Equal Exchange, your congregation supports small-scale farmers through buying Equal Exchange's 100% fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate, and other tasty treats in bulk for your congregation, school, and community!

Equal Exchange, worker-owned co-operative, sources these goods from small farmer co-operatives. Farmers earn a fair price, benefit from the co-operatives' community infrastructure like schools and healthcare, and have a trading partner they can trust with Equal Exchange during critical times.

In 2010 alone, UUs purchased 39 tons of small-farmer products through the UUSC Coffee Project. For every pound of Equal Exchange products you purchase through the UUSC Coffee Project, Equal Exchange donates 20 cents to the UUSC Small Farmer Fund, totaling around $17,000 a year. UUs have the highest participation rate of any denomination in Equal Exchange's Interfaith Program - over 650 UU congregations participate!

ORDER

To order products and materials like posters and brochures, download an order form for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Coffee Project (in pdf format), or visit us at our Interfaith Program Web Store!

GET INVOLVED

• NEW: Become a UU Fair Trade Champion!
  
  
• Brew coffee and tea for your coffee hour. Our Coffee Hour Starter Kit makes it easy.
  
  
• Sell - read the Sales Promotion Tool Kit or hold a fundraiser with our fundraising catalog or do-it-yourself tools.
  
  
• Support Palestinian small-scale farmers by sharing Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, choose Equal Exchange chocolate over that made with child slavery during Halloween's Reverse Trick-or-Treating and Valentine's Day, share fun recipes, or hold an alternative gift fair.
  
  
• Educate about and promote Fair Trade and co-operatives.

• Frequently Asked Questions
• "Live the Seven Principles by Supporting Fair Trade" Flyer
• Coffee Project Handout
• Coffee Project Brochure

CONTACT US

To contact Equal Exchange with any questions or feedback, e-mail interfaith@equalexchange.coop, call 774-776-7366, or write to us at Equal Exchange; 50 United Drive; West Bridgewater, MA 02379.

UUSC is able to confront injustice worldwide thanks to the dedicated support of its members and supporters. For more information about this and other programs, contact UUSC at 689 Massachusetts Ave.; Cambridge, MA 02139-3302; Tel. 617-868-6600/1-800-766-5236, e-mail coffeeproject@uusc.org, or visit http://www.uusc.org/coffeeproject.

UUs Making a Difference

First UU Congregation of Ann Arbor, Michigan has purchased more fairly traded goods than any other congregation participating in the UUSC Coffee Project since their first order in 2001. Accepting their award was Joan Burleigh, a member of the congregation. First Unitarian Society of Westchester, New York, has demonstrated its commitment to Fair Trade as a Coffee Project participant since 2002, even though it's a smaller congregation. Accepting their award was Director of Religious Education, John Cavallero.

Jeanne is holding the letter of acknowledgement from the UUSC regarding the high level of sales for FY2010. Ann Hailey, another member, describes how: "Jeanne convinced the congregation's Board that this was a service project that the congregation could support, and the congregation started to pay for the orders which were then sent to the church building… Jeanne found a free-standing shelf… This became the "store", and I think that really added to the visibility of the project... The board agreed that only fairly traded coffee is to be served from the congregation's kitchen."