For several years, we have worked with our partners to address seasonal hunger by supporting “food-security” projects at the household level —  that is, projects that help farmers grow or have the means to buy sufficient, nutritious food on a day-to-day basis. We're excited to announce that we've now joined with four other coffee companies along with Mercy Corps and Aldea Global to work on this issue together. 

 

In Waterbury, Vermont, the Green Mountain Coffee® Visitor Center & Café located at the historic train station is bustling with activity. The café is nestled in between five ski resorts and the energy is high this time of year. The holidays have passed and many are working off those extra calories on their skis or snowboards. In the morning, we see many energetic faces gearing up for a day at the mountain by starting it off with a hot Golden French Toast® Maple Supreme. We start off with hot Golden French Toast coffee, steamed light cream, and a shot of pure Vermont maple syrup. Of course, a dollop of whip cream can be added for those planning to hit the slopes hard. Although ,if you prefer a good ol’ cup-o-joe over a specialty drink, we have seven daily brews of the day to choose.  A mug for every mogul you tackle that day?

Being a stop before and after skiing has its perks for us. Skiers and riders are happy to tell us what the conditions were on the mountain that day, and we make sure to pass that information on to our other guests. Most recently, we had a skier coming back from one mountain report that as he was just getting off of the lift and about to rip down the mountain and he saw a moose chasing a fellow skier. Yes, a moose! Fortunately, the skier was able to get good speed quickly and the moose gave up the chase and retreated to the woods.  Wonder if the mountain will now put up a moose crossing sign at the top of the lift…

The Visitor Center & Café also serves as a stop on the Amtrak Vermonter line. If it’s not the skier and riders stories that keep us entertained daily, it is the periodic visits we receive from major news outlets. Just last week, CNN visited the train station with the Vermont Department of Tourism for an interview to discuss the improvements on the high speed rail and Vermont being the first state to complete the improvements. Vermont certainly has a lot of firsts and this is just an example of the progressive nature of our state.

There are still many powder days ahead of us in Vermont which powers our local economy and helps make us a great retreat from the hustle and bustle of cities like Boston and Montreal. Won’t you come and see us soon?

I have a confession to make, and it's not one that I share with people that often - I'm a secret cook. While I never pursued a career in the culinary arts, I spent some time, years back, taking a variety of different cooking courses in an effort to upgrade my homemade meals from macaroni and cheese and deli sandwiches to finer cuisine. It was slow going at first, but after several months I was whipping up all manner of savory pork roasts, grilled salmon, spicy Cajun dishes and saucy pasta and meatball combinations. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but technically you could say that I'm a trained chef.

If you're wondering why I decided to keep this information something of a secret, I suppose it's because I'm a little shy about it. I've met plenty of people who think of cooking as a competition - always trying to outdo some old family recipe or show up their friends in the kitchen - and I just don't think of food in that way. For me, my time spent at the stove or chopping vegetables is a means of relaxing, expressing my creativity and sharing my love of food with close friends and family.

However, I'm not entirely humble about my skills - I do like to think I know a thing or two about fine dining and it’s also had the side effect of making me turn my nose a little at things of lower quality, be they meat or vegetables, wine or coffee. You learn the importance of each part of a meal and how they are supposed to compliment the rest. Because of this, I'm always on the lookout for the latest and greatest restaurants in Vermont.

A few weekends back, my girlfriend, Liz, and I took a mini-vacation and rented a hotel room in Burlington to  take the opportunity to just break out of the regular routine. While we spent plenty of time shopping and wandering the waterfront, I also made a point of visiting some authentic Italian ristorantes, one of my favorite styless of food, to satisfy my slight obsession . Even the basic plate of pasta with Bolognese sauce and a good glass of red wine, followed by a cup of Italian Roast coffee is tough to beat.

While you might not think of Vermont as a hub of fine Mediterranean dining, the state is peppered with gorgeous trattorias that are small on space but big on taste. Two particular establishments caught my eye as Liz and I toured Burlington, and I'm pleased to say that both Trattoria Delia and L'Amante Ristorante represented the strength of Vermont's culinary tradition.

The wines at both restaurants were fantastic, and I'm sure to return to L'Amante for its risotto and gnocchi with braised rabbit. At Trattoria Delia, I was blown away by the Spaghetti alla Pescatora, and Liz couldn't get enough of her Bucatini all'Amatriciana. I wish I’d discovered both places earlier in life.

So, if anyone ever tells you that you can't get good Italian food in Vermont, kindly point them to either of these two fine establishments. Buon appetito!

Gathered via an extremely informal, impromptu poll around the office about what people liked best about Memorial Day weekend, aside from the fact that it’s a long weekend and paid holiday of course!

1. Having a BBQ (or picnic):
   • Naturally, there were many mentions regarding cook-outs and grilling. Just about everyone had some iteration of it. Some people were a little more enthusiastic and detailed about it than others though, going so far as to say “a clambake at the beach or “a fat juicy steak on the grill cooked just so”, possibly bordering on being a little overzealous in some cases. People love their food!
2. Being with friends and family:
   • This common theme ties in nicely with pretty much everything else about the holiday, the, generally, more pleasant weather, outdoor opportunities and the typical events warrant spending quality time with loved ones.
3. Strawberry shortcake:
   • This classic summer treat deserves its own place in the lineup, it’s delicious. enough said!
4. Fireworks:
   • Always fun, even if slightly dangerous, but it’s a holiday and the weather is nice enough to spend it outside, so fireworks are an obvious possibility. Please just be safe, we like you all to be healthy, happy people.
5. Beginning to plant the garden, window boxes, spring flowers:
   • This was an extremely popular response, with good reason. The sun is finally shining strongly and the world is a verdant green and in bloom around you, so it’s an appropriate time to enjoy in that fresh spring vigor and get dirty working in the garden.
6. Parades:
   • Exciting to watch and good for people of ages. Everything from a young girl walking her cows, which are 3 times her size, to the older veterans riding in classic cars, to people hanging out of the back of a hay wagon being pulled behind an enormous tractor(at least where I’m from).
7. Flying candy:
   • An essential part of any parade in my book, though I’m told that this may not be a universal trait of these sorts of events nationwide. If you’re unfamiliar with this tradition, it’s basically centered around throwing candy from the vehicles and floats in the parade to the observers. Obviously a nice gesture!
8. The start of the summer feeling:
   • Something triggers in the body right around this holiday in conjunction with the weather that says that it’s time for fun, boating, swimming, and laying in the hammock, etc…
9. Icy beverages:
   • Marketing completely aside, the increasing warmth and humidity bring with them a desire for more refreshing, cooler drinks. Iced coffee and Iced tea taking the place of their normal counterparts.
10. Going camping:
    • Again tied to the agreeableness of the weather, is the opening up of the camping season. Time for bug spray, camp fires, hot dogs, and s’mores!

Enjoy the holiday and cross your fingers for nice weather!

If you’re looking for ideas and/or a good deal on iced beverages you should check out what we’ve got going on the website. (GreenMountainCoffee.com)

The weather is warming up in Vermont and our porch is lined with tables for our guests. Now, all we need is the music. Beginning this Sunday, May 27^th, we kick off our 5^th annual Music on the Porch series at the Green Mountain Coffee®Visitor Center & Café located in Waterbury’s historic train station. Join us every Sunday through September 2nd from 1-3 p.m. on our porch. Sit down and relax, watch the train go by, and enjoy a cup of iced coffee or another specialty drink. Each week we will raffle off a new Vue™ brewer and all proceeds collected will benefit Food 4 Farmers, a non-profit whose mission is to facilitate the implementation of sustainable food security programs in coffee-growing communities. We are very excited to support a cause that is addressing a serious issue in coffee-growing communities. Please visit food4farmers.org for more information.

Rain or shine, we hope to see you Sundays on our covered porch!

Yesterday, Grounds for Health announced that they will be able to further develop their existing cervical cancer prevention programs in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Tanzania, and expand its program into Peru thanks to a three-year $900,000 grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. We've supported the Vermont-based non-profit through past grants as well as through the annual Grounds For Health Carwash. We're excited to continue to support Grounds For Health's efforts to establish sustainable and effective cervical cancer prevention and treatment programs in coffee-growing communities.

The announcement of this grant is particularly meaningful as January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. August Burns, the Executive Director of Grounds For Health says "It’s important to recognize that the greatest cancer killer of women in developing countries worldwide is cervical cancer, despite it being nearly 100% preventable".

“We are proud to contribute to Grounds for Health’s important work in coffee-growing communities,” says Colleen Bramhall, GMCR Coffee Community Outreach Manager. “The partnerships Grounds for Health forges with coffee cooperatives help break down barriers that stand between women and the care they need. We are proud of the accomplishments of our Waterbury neighbor and look forward to continuing our collaboration.” 

In the words of Fatima Ismael, cervical cancer survivor and general manager of the Soppexcca coffee cooperative, a long-time partner of both companies, “I think until my last breath, I will be eternally grateful for what [Grounds for Health] has done for us.” You can find out more information on Grounds for Health on their webpage, Facebook or Twitter.

Cupping coffees is one of the most unique aspects of our craft. When we “cup” coffees, we formally evaluate their qualities using very precise sensory criteria. But cupping is not just the realm of coffee experts. You can use some of the same techniques when judging your morning brew. Here’s how:

1. Breathe deep. If you have a bagged coffee, smell the ground coffee before it’s brewed. The fragrance speaks volumes about the coffee’s origin and the care of its processing.
   
2. Brew. Breathe deep again. The aroma of brewed coffee also varies dramatically from origin to origin. Coffee can be: woodsy, earthy, citrusy, fruity, smoky, or nutty.
   
3. Take a sip. Is it bright? This pleasing tang on the tongue is acidity. (Remember: Acidity does not refer to the PH level of the coffee.)
   
4. Take another sip. Is the coffee earthy, nutty, fruity, toasty? There is huge diversity in the flavor of coffee from region to region, or even within a specific region. Try a few different blends or regions and see for yourself!
   
5. And another sip. How does the coffee feel? What is its weight or texture? Full-bodied coffees may be buttery or even syrupy. Light-bodied coffees are more tea-like.
   
6. Now you’re really starting to enjoy the coffee. How does each sip finish? The sensations that remain in the mouth when the coffee is gone are the finish, or aftertaste. Some coffees impart a sweet, lingering finish; others are more direct, even abrupt.
   

Before you know it, a full cup has elapsed, and you’ve been immersed in the wonderful wealth of sensoral information held within a single cup. Think about that coffee’s balance, how all of its individual flavors and taste sensations come together. Great coffees are balanced – great coffees have a whole composition that is greater than the sum of its parts.

So go ahead – savor your cup of coffee.  We’ll be right there with you.

Colleen Bramhall, who works in our Supply-Chain Outreach department, wrote this blog post for a 4 part series called Business+ on 3BL Media.

At Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, our purpose is to create the ultimate coffee experience in every life we touch, from tree to cup – transforming the way the world understands business.  We live this creed in every part of our business, and perhaps the most authentic demonstration of this commitment is in our supply chain outreach work.

Five percent of GMCR’s pre-tax earnings is channeled into social and environmental programs, and I am responsible for that portion allocated to coffee-producing communities.  We make targeted grants to non-profit organizations and coffee cooperatives in our supply chain for programs that reduce poverty and hunger, and support health and environmental sustainability.  Currently, we are funding over 85 projects in coffee growing communities with 45 grantee organizations in 15 countries – all with a common goal of improving the quality of life of coffee farmers and their families at the household level.  Based on the findings from some unsettling research in Central America, a key area of programming focus is improving food security during the “thin months” after the coffee harvest (for more information, visit www.aftertheharvest.org).

The first time I met the team at Sustainable Harvest, I recognized in them a kindred spirit in this “business +” community; and I was not alone: Sustainable Harvest has been a key partner

of GMCR’s on both the commercial side of our business and the social responsibility side for several years.  Sustainable Harvest’s Relationship Coffee Model means they have an intimate understanding of the coffee producers in their network, and thus can provide critical insight into the needs and opportunities of producers within our shared supply chain.  Cooperatives that have received funding from GMCR for social programs have often benefited from Sustainable Harvest’s expertise in and passion for development initiatives. We have engaged Sustainable staff to support several of our suppliers with building organic fertilizer plants that incorporate waste from the coffee harvesting process into a nourishing compost that greatly increase yields for farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Sustainable has also led an innovative drip irrigation project in Tanzania that serves thriving vegetable gardens, reinforcing food security in these remote communities.

Sustainable Harvest’s annual “Let’s Talk Coffee” conference provides a unique space for both GMCR’s coffee buyers and corporate social responsibility team to connect with our suppliers and is exemplary of putting the Relationship Model into practice. I attended Let’s Talk Coffee for the first time this year and felt that I had entered a business utopia – where all members of a supply chain had come together to do business in a spirit of mutual respect, shared advantage, and lasting friendship.  This meeting enabled me to connect with representatives from several social projects we are funding, and facilitated conversations with new contacts about opportunities for the future.  An air of excitement permeated the conference center as business partners collaborated to build a robust, inclusive, and prosperous relationship that goes beyond business-as-usual and on to creating a bright, interconnected future together.

This past year has been challenging on many fronts, the most recent and impactful challenge was Mother Nature, in the form of Tropical Storm Irene.  I was affected both professionally, with our Visitor Center having to close due to flood damage during our busiest season, and personally, as my elderly mother’s house was also flooded along with many others in our community.  It would have been easy to get overwhelmed with negativity, however, the generous, supportive, spirit of our community did not make that an option.  Instead of dwelling on the tragic aspects of the situation I was able, like so many,  to look at the opportunities that  the flooding presented.

Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures in life that keep you going and being able to offer a cup of coffee and an understanding ear to a flood victim had many rewards for both myself and other members of the Visitor Center team.  We were able to keep a presence at the Visitor Center until the end of October, when the weather began to change.  We offered free coffee, information about the flood and local attractions, as well as directions.  We think of ourselves as the “Face of Green Mountain Coffee” and we were happy that we were able to continue to welcome those who stopped by the Visitor Center not realizing that the whole town was a virtual construction zone.  I’m thankful to be working for a company that holds many of the values that I hold personally; commitment to community, perseverance to go beyond what is expected, working together to make things happen to name a few.  Many of the things that we were able to do post-Irene could not have been done without the help of fellow Green Mountain Coffee employees, all of whom I am thankful for.

Personally, after the initial shock of my mother’s house being flooded, my sisters and I saw great opportunities to take care of things that have needed to be taken care of for years.  The carpet in the living room, the wiring throughout the house, the purging of items that accumulate after 40 years in a home were all addressed and taken care of without (for the most part) emotional attachment.  In the end, my mother will have a house that is updated and safer for her to live in.  I’m thankful for those things, but they are just things.  What this experience has really taught me and what I’m most thankful for is the sense of community; neighbor helping neighbor.  So many people extended themselves to victims of the flood, through donations of labor, food, supportive thoughts and so much more.  There were people helping us in the days that followed Irene that I had no clue who they were, many of which were Green Mountain Coffee employees; I’m thankful for all of them.

I’m generally thankful for friends, family, a great company, a supportive community, and proof that in this world where so much focus is put on the negative that we can find so much good to focus on during times of adversity.

“Every business transaction is a challenge to see that both parties come out fairly.”

–  Adam Smith, 1759

We can make a difference by taking our sense of taste and social responsibility to the office each morning.

Small businesses have substantial influence in their community, and when they adopt practices like supporting Fair Trade that advance the quality of life for their patrons, communities, and the environment, it makes a huge difference.

Here are a few suggestions for adding Fair Trade in your workplace, starting around the coffee station:

Ensure that your office coffee machine is brewing Fair Trade coffee. Also, encourage your employer to supply Fair Trade cocoa and tea, as well as Fair Trade chocolates as a snack during meetings or as an employee reward.




Post signs in the office break room or kitchen, preferably above the coffee maker, letting your coworkers know that the beverages they are drinking are supporting small-scale farmers.




Many organizations working on Fair Trade provide fact sheets and resources on their website. You can order informational materials or download them from organizations such as the Fair Trade Resource Network or Transfair USA. Several offer material you can print out and give to coworkers (maybe with a piece of Fair Trade chocolate as an incentive).




Use your company newsletter or blog to promote Fair Trade.




Ask for corporate donations to Fair Trade organizations.




Ask the businesses you support during the workweek to sell Fair Trade products. Don’t be intimidated; business owners really do value consumer feedback.




Let your local merchants know you value the Fair Trade items they sell, and ask them to stock any you’d like to purchase.




Encourage your business to advocate for making your town a “Fair Trade Town” — a community that makes a commitment to supporting Fair Trade. Lead the way!




Exchange Fair Trade gifts with coworkers during the holidays.




Give the gift of Fair Trade to clients: Global Exchange, for example, has a Corporate Gift Program allowing you to buy socially conscious Fair Trade gifts.

The Fair Trade Certified™ label helps your office make better choices, with the assurance that the merchandise purchased is socially and environmentally conscious. As we become more aware of opportunities to use our influence in the marketplace, Fair Trade provides a path for both individuals and businesses to vote with their dollars and become a real force for good.

We’ve been talking a lot about October being Fair Trade Month. It also happens to be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Wholesale and our Business Coffee Express service are proud to support the “Pink on Purpose” campaign of the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).

The AICR was founded more than 25 years ago on a simple but radical idea: everyday choices can reduce our chances of getting cancer. They were the first organization to focus research on the link between diet and cancer, and to translate the results into practical information for the public.

AICR’s Pink on Purpose Campaign encourages workplaces to “get pink”: Employees dress in pink, trick out the office in pink decorations, and raise funds for breast cancer research. Once you sign up to host Pink on Purpose, you'll receive an event toolkit that contains pink decorations, promotional materials and breast cancer materials, as well as planning tools and fun ideas.

As prizes for the offices that raise the most money, our Digital team is  is donating Keurig® brewers, K-Cup®portion packs, and coffee gift baskets.

So, wherever you work, please consider getting Pink on Purpose this month. With your help, AICR can have a greater impact on emerging breast cancer research, treatment interventions and prevention programs in labs, clinics, and communities across the country.

Pink on Purpose > Get started

-Tom

This is a guest post written by Colleen Bramhall. Colleen works in our Corporate Social Responsibility Department, supporting our Coffee Community Outreach programs.

You know that feeling of satisfaction you get when you introduce two of your amazing friends that have a common interest... that moment when you step back and watch as they hit it off and engage in a meaningful, intelligent conversation that enriches them both?

We imagined this kind of engagement would happen if we brought together all of our incredible partners in Nicaragua that are working on different food security solutions targeting coffee farmers in our supply chain.  A few weeks ago, it became a reality!  In a highly participatory conference organized by the Community Agroecology Network (CAN), dozens of NGO project managers, coffee cooperative farm technicians, and other community and government leaders came together to discuss innovative strategies and approaches to addressing “the thin months” in coffee growing communities in Nicaragua.

We started in the field with a visit to a few farms near San Ramon that are part of the “Campesino a Campesino” (Farmer to Farmer) movement, which is a grassroots network of volunteers that provide sustainable agricultural advice to their neighbors.  The visit was a low-risk, informal way to share ideas and start to build relationships.  On the second day, each participant presented a poster to the group that described the strategies and tactics used in their food security project; for example, establishing household gardens, building grain drying facilities, distributing silos for seed storage, etc.  We were surprised to see that so many of the projects had similar elements, which fostered collaboration and knowledge sharing.  On the final day, we invited government officials, advisors, and senior staff to join the dialogue to discuss how we could influence national policy.

The conference ended but the discussion continues.  Attendees were interested in forming a cross-organizational network of professionals engaged in food security solutions that could share best practices on an ongoing basis.  It will be exciting to see the collaborations that evolve from this network as we work towards our common goal of improving the lives of coffee farmers in Nicaragua.

According to a TIME Magazine article, heating, air conditioning, and electricity for American businesses produce about 40% of our nation’s CO₂ emissions and account for around 70% of our power consumption. The following first steps will not only yield a greener office with a smaller carbon footprint, but also promote a happier workplace, and a healthier bottom line. These 10 are just a start. I'll share more in the coming months

1. Use Power Strips

“Phantom loads” occur when devices that appear turned off still draw electricity — such as appliances with digital clocks and electronics with instant-on capability. Office equipment can be bundled onto one power strip for easy switching off when not in use, but make sure the power strips are accessible and visible so everyone remembers to use them.

2. Kick the Bottled Water Habit

It is estimated that Americans toss out over 35 billion plastic water bottles annually, and workplaces are some of the largest sources of that plastic bottle trash. Consider using a water delivery service or buying a water filter for the kitchen faucet along with a supply of reusable cups.

3. Buy Recycled Paper

Opt for 100% recycled content paper, paper towels, and toilet paper. For printed sales and marketing brochures, investigate alternatives in post-consumer recycled paper. Luckily, many recycled paper vendors now sell high post-consumer content recycled products at prices comparable to traditional paper products.

4. Stop Stapling

Use reusable binder clips or paper clips to join pages, or buy a “stapleless” fastener to avoid buying staples altogether. You will keep tons of steel out of landfills.

5. Go Paperless

Employing a cloud-based project management system as much as possible allows team members access to key information resources, without the need for lots of printouts. Some examples of these systems include Jive, BaseCamp, Google Docs, and Wave.

6. Think Outside the Cubicle

Carpools and public transit benefit both the environment and the employees. Initiate some of these simple ideas if you are the business owner or suggest them to your boss:

• Suggest four-day work weeks or telecommuting. (Working fewer days per week or telecommuting can substantially reduce transportation and fuel expenses.)


• Ask your employer to offer carpool-matching plans connecting employees with co-workers who live nearby or on the same route to the office.


• Provide parking incentives such as prime parking spots for carpoolers.


• Encourage bicycling and walking to the office by conveniently locating bike racks near the workplace.


• Offer financial incentives for these options.

7. Use Laptops

ENERGY STAR qualified computers can use up to 90% less energy than desktop models so, whenever possible, ditch the desktops.

8. Give the Gift of Green
Whether you are buying a special gift for a client or a present for an office baby shower, try to buy environmentally friendly or Fair Trade items to show that you care about your customers and co-workers as well as the planet.

9. Offer Organic Coffee & Tea

This is our favorite. Ask your office manager to stock organic or Fair Trade coffee for the break room. Ask your co-workers to bring in their favorite coffee mug or water glass and get some mugs (preferably with your company logo) for visiting clients to eliminate disposable cup waste.

10. Track and Celebrate Your Success

Last but not least, post explanations of what you’re doing and how much you’ve accomplished near each “greened space” — and include how the changes make sense environmentally and financially. People tend to respond more favorably when they know the reason behind a decision and feel they are included in the effort rather than having it imposed top-down. Share these and any other green office tips you find with your office mates and consider electing a “Sustainability Manager” to oversee recycling, energy usage, and research more green office alternatives.

This is a guest post by Colleen Bramhall. Colleen works in our Supply-Chain Outreach Team focusing on Coffee-Growing Communities.

My dad worked in a bank, so I’ve had a bank account for as long as I can remember.  I’d go into the branch in our village, fill out the little piece of paper with my account number and the $5 I earned walking the neighbor’s dog, or the $20 check I got from my aunt for my birthday.  I would hand over my money and I would get a receipt back telling me how much I had saved so far, and I trusted that it was there whenever I absolutely needed it for some critical purchase (e.g. a new Cabbage Patch Kids®).  This was the best part – there would be extra money that I didn’t even have to earn that the bank just gave me for free (aka interest).

Most Americans have had a similar experience with financial services – for the most part, designed for convenience, operating fairly, and ingrained in our culture.  In other parts of the world, access to basic financial services is rare and when available, seldom understood by would-be customers.  Can you imagine a life without a bank?  Your mattress might be good at holding savings, but how’s its interest rate or loan policy?

To address this issue with coffee farmers in Aceh, Indonesia, GMCR has partnered with Mercy Corps, an international nonprofit that ‘helps people turn the crises they confront into the opportunities they deserve.’  In the community assessments carried out by Mercy Corps, farmers indicated that they were most interested in learning about household financial planning and wanted savings and loan services.  Mercy Corps is working with four GMCR coffee cooperatives on a three year “Community Health and Investment for Livelihoods (CHILI)” program.  They are helping to increase financial literacy in the community through trainings on household expenses, cash flow, savings plans, by leveraging materials created in Western Unions Our World Our Family program.  They have also started working with the cooperatives on establishing savings and loans systems.

Through a community health survey, Mercy Corps found another way to help mothers in Aceh save money – by breastfeeding instead of purchasing expensive formula.  Mercy Corps has created mothers groups where they provide information on financial literacy and healthy practices, including the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (for child health and financial).

Planning for life’s ups and downs is getting a little easier for those wonderful people picking your Sumatra Reserve coffee!

Last week, I was honored to have been invited to Grounds for Health 15^th Anniversary Celebration last week.  Grounds for Health is a non-profit organization with a mission of bringing healthcare to women in coffee growing regions. Located down the street from our Visitor Center, Ground for Health focuses on training, screening and treating cervical cancer.  Cervical is the number one cancer in women living in developing countries, a disease that is both preventable and treatable.  It’s an organization that Green Mountain Coffee has been involved with since the beginning and continues supporting in various ways.

One way that I have personally been involved with is the annual Grounds for Health car wash that Green Mountain employees organize.  It’s amazing how much support and money can be raised on a summer day for a great cause.  Not to mention it’s a lot of fun, too. This year the car wash is scheduled for August 17^th, so if you are in the area, I encourage you to stop by and get your car washed…we have music and interior detailing as well, so you won’t want to miss it!  For more information on Grounds for Health (or a short video of our car wash fun) check out their website, GroundsForHealth.org.

“Improving the quality of life of coffee farmers” – that is the goal of our coffee-community outreach at GMCR. We know the work of our NGO partners and coffee cooperatives is making an impact, but how do we measure that impact?

About a year ago, we invited our partners to help develop a tool to monitor and evaluate GMCR funded projects in coffee-communities. We set out to develop a guide that would outline a standard methodology for collecting impact information to be useful to us for future funding decisions but also be useful to the organizations and cooperatives for their work on the ground.

Last week, a year later, we met again to review the Monitoring and Evaluation Guide. What was working? What could be improved upon?

During the two day working collaborative the 9 organizations who attended provided feedback on "field testing" the guide and shared stories about how best to gather the required quantitative metrics and the qualitative “Most Significant Change” stories.   This latter component allows beneficiaries, the farmers themselves, to participate in the project’s evaluation and allows us to understand the stories behind the metrics.

Working on this guide will help us to define success and compare the results of various impactful projects. We’ll also be able to share these successes with other organizations and farmer cooperatives to work together on solutions to improve the lives of those within our supply-chain.

Thank you to our partner attendees, listed below, for their passion and dedication during the collaborative!

Catholic Relief Services
Coffee Kids
The Community Agroecology Network
Grounds for Health
Heifer International
Partners in Heath and EAPSEC
Planting Hope
Root Capital
The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

“How many calories are in my cup of Green Mountain Coffee?”

- From a slew of curious coffee lovers

---

Coffee is non-nutritive, meaning it has no nutritional value. Being a studious fellow, I looked on our own website and verified that a typical 6-oz. serving of black, drip coffee has 2 calories. Which I may have just burned off typing this last sentence. Our flavored coffees like Fair Trade Island Coconut®? Free of calories and carbs. Brilliant!

Just remember: I'm talking black coffee. If you put sugar or honey in there, they add calories. If you put Organic Valley Half and Half in your coffee like I do, you can see the results when you go to the beach for the first time in July. Time for the 2%.

Of course, coffee does offer a number of trace minerals (Thiamin, Niacin, Folate, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Manganese) and is a good source of Potassium, Pantothenic Acid and Riboflavin.  Some even say that you are more likely to be friendly to other people if you have a hot cup of coffee in your hands. (There are a lot of friendly folks around our office – just saying).

There's a good chart on our web site that explains the ins and outs of coffee nutritional information here: http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/nutrition.aspx

So - the moral of this story? Time for another cup of coffee for me!

Each year, we here at Green Mountain Coffee® provide the opportunity for one lucky fan to win a new Keurig® Single-Cup Brewer along with a lifetime supply of K-Cup® portion packs!  The contest is called The Perfect Cup Sweepstakes and it's been growing in popularity since it was introduced.

I am happy to introduce you all to Raymond of Fall River, MA, who is this year's big winner!  Raymond was recently awarded with his new Keurig Platinum Brewer along with a lifetime supply of coffee.  Way to go, Raymond!

Raymond entered our sweepstakes as many days as he could, saying he might have only missed "a day or two" (Persistence is key!).  He was really surprised to learn he was the big winner, but says since receiving the brewer, he now drinks a lot more coffee due to the convenience of putting in a portion pack rather than brewing an entire pot of coffee and tossing most it.  Breakfast Blend is Raymond's favorite, but he's been known to drink a stronger blend on occasion.  In Raymond's words, "I would recommend this contest to anyone who likes good coffee."

Congrats again, Raymond!  Happy brewing!

So what does it take to be like Raymond?  Simply The Perfect K-Cup Sweepstakes , fill out the information – and you’re set!  There are daily prize giveaways with the chance at our Grand Prize which will be awarded in early 2012.  Enter early, enter often!

As I write this, it’s 57-degrees and sunny outside the Visitor Center here in Waterbury, Vermont.  I can imagine the sap flowing and the flowers preparing to pop through the wet soil.  It’s hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago we were digging out of over two-feet of snow.  Spring in Vermont is definitely unpredictable.

The winter months at the Visitor Center tend to have a more relaxed pace.  I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with many folks from New England and it’s interesting how many times the same topics come up.  One topic that came up a couple of different times is how important a good cup of coffee is the first thing in the morning.  In fact, many people choose their morning stops based on where they can get a cup of Green Mountain Coffee.  Coffee is such a big part of a person’s morning routine that the difference between starting a day off right or not is based on the quality of coffee in their cup.  A store that keeps their coffee fresh and rotated can see a difference in their traffic flow and can see the value that a brand can give.  Providing quality products and services is what keeps people coming back.  I’m happy to hear that many of our business partners understand this concept and it’s definitely a concept that we work hard to maintain at our store.

Our Visitor Center is located in a working Amtrak station, so we see a lot of folks from different states come in while they're waiting for the train.  Last week, we had over 40 people get dropped off after spending time in Stowe and they couldn’t say enough nice things about our station.  The people that I spoke with were from California, Florida, and Missouri and they couldn’t believe that our station was this beautiful.  The station not only includes our café and gift shop, but also has a lot to offer in respect to interactive displays about Waterbury history and the process of coffee from “tree to cup”, as well as information about Green Mountain Coffee.

I’m so proud of the Visitor Center, not only from the prospective of an employee but also as a lifelong resident of Waterbury.  If you’re planning a trip to the Central Vermont area, I hope that you consider stopping by the Visitor Center to see all that we have to offer, have a cup of coffee, or just to say, “Hi!”

Connections: Part 1

We just started buying coffee from a small cooperative in El Salvador called APECAFE. It's not a super unusual group with an amazing tale of hardship or uniqueness, but it is a group that illustrates one of the models we use to buy coffee. With our certified coffees, we use a two tiered approach to sourcing and maintaining good relationships with our supply chain. The first part is fair pricing and clear quality expectations. The second tier is social investments.

As you might know, we take 5% of our pre-tax profits and invest a portion of that in our supply chain, with a strong emphasis on food security to help combat the thin months or "los mesos flacos" in Spanish. Right now we're funding over 50 different projects in over 10 different countries to the tune of over 4 million dollars per year. One of those fundees is Sustainable Harvest, a highly regarded importer of certified coffees based in Portland, OR.

This past summer, they put on a Let's Talk Coffee Food Security Event, that we helped fund, for their and our supply chain. Here's right from their website:

Sustainable Harvest pays growers prices well above the Fair Trade minimum price for their coffee; yet, when we visit coffee-producing communities in Latin America and Africa, farmers still tell us that they struggle to provide food for their children at certain times of year. We realized that simply paying a just price for coffee was not enough. We wanted to help farmers provide food for their families all year round. We began working on mushroom production projects in Tanzania and peer training in Central America.

Sustainable Harvest began our work in food security by leveraging the Let’s Talk Coffee® format—peer-led, hands-on training combined with technological innovations and a market-based approach—to scale initiatives that provide coffee farmers with greater food security. Sustainable Harvest invited approximately 60 people from cooperatives across the region to the Food Security Solutions event in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. There, participants learned innovative, effective strategies to improve food security that they can replicate in their own communities.

One of the groups there was APECAFE.  Jorge Cuevas, Director of Trade Operations for Sustainable Harvest, met with them and they had this to say about us, "we find that very few companies are interested in our livelihoods, our caloric intake, and the nutrition of our children." They wanted to be in our supply chain and we needed coffee. So Jorge connected us: first over a Skype call for an "introduction" as well as some emailed pictures from the event at Selva Negra in Nicaragua. Then, like a good importer does, he facilitated an exchange of quality expectations and helped both sides negotiate a fair price. Now we all have signed contracts and are eagerly awaiting their fine coffee. When it does get here, we're going to put it in our Fair Trade Vermont Country Blend.

Jorge was kind enough to let me do a quick interview with him giving some more background information on the coop. He was here in March and of course it was snowing, which doesn't happen that often in Oaxaca, Mexico where Jorge is from. Poor guy, about half the time he visits here it's snowing or raining and every time we visit him it's sunny, dry and warm.
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Connections: Part 2
One of our other fundees is Catholic Relief Services in Guatemala and they're also doing food security work. At that same conference in Nicaragua was Michael Sheriden from CRS. He has been working for awhile with APECAFE, in particular Las Cruces, which is a primary level coop in APECAFE. He keeps a really nice bog called CRS Coffeelands Blog.  Michael does development work in Central America, but to read his posts and see his pictures, you would think he came from the New York Times and National Geographic.  Great pictures of farmer and employees of Las Cruces.