Green Mountain Cafe – The Green Mountain Coffee Blog

A couple weeks ago our Vermont Facilities held their 2^nd Annual Holiday Turkey Drive. To add to the excitement, the winner of this year’s drive received the impressive King of the Turkey Trophy!

Over a two-day period employees donated 113 turkeys and, with our company match, $2,848 dollars! Though many departments and individuals participated, there can only be one King of the Turkeys! Congratulations to our Vermont-based Public Relations department (Kristen and Sandy).

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

Colleen at Let's Talk Coffee (image from 3BL Media posting)

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

Drip Irrigation Project with Sustainable Harvest in Tanzania

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.

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This post was written by Mary Beth Jenssen. Mary Beth works on our Supply-Chain Outreach Team.

Do you ever wonder what life is like for the farmer who works to produce the coffee you enjoy each morning? In our Supply Chain Outreach team, we focus on just that: supporting farmers and their families to meet their fundamental human needs.

One year ago marked the start of a GMCR-supported project with CAC La Prosperidad coffee cooperative in northern Peru (which is currently our Special Reserve Coffee). The project focused on raising guinea pigs – yes those cute, furry rodents that we all know and love – for consumption to improve the diets and income of the cooperative members. The project, managed by the cooperative’s Women’s Committee, benefits many of the cooperatives 391 members. Year one of these efforts recently concluded and the Committee reported on how this project has changed food security in their community.

A Snapshot of Growth:

Day One: 48 guinea pigs (40 female, 8 male)
Day 60: 70 guinea pigs (60 female, 10 male)
Day 365: 350 guinea pigs cared for by the cooperative and 10 individual coffee-farming families
Goal: 800 guinea pigs

As the number of guinea pigs (or Cuy as it is called in Peru) continues to grow, members are able to consume some of this meat every 15 days. Adding this small amount of guinea pig meat to their meals enables many to achieve and maintain a healthier, more balanced diet that counters nutritional deficiencies and diseases that result from poor nutrition.

Another benefit from these guinea pigs? It may be hard to believe, but the cooperative collects 33 pounds, 15 kilos, of guinea pig manure each day which is incorporated into their fertilizer production. Not only are the members able to use this fertilizer on their own land, but the cooperative is also able to sell the product to other community members and nearby organizations. The profit from this activity could sustain the guinea pig project into the future and may even to support other new activities.

In case you are concerned about the well-being of the guinea pig, I should mention that the members work to provide the upmost care by creating housing units using materials best suited for the safety and comfort of the guinea pigs. Additionally, each guinea pig unit has a caretaker charged with ensuring they are well-

fed, hydrated, healthy and safe, which may even include visits to a veterinarian. As a result of this excellent care, members will be able to achieve improved diets and profitability fromthis project into the future.

Now, the next time you sit down to sip your Special Reserve La Prosperidad Peru you may end up thinking about the food best suited to pair with it. Perhaps it won’t be your morning bagel, but something a bit more unusual. Grilled guinea pig perhaps? I hear it tastes great when sprinkled with a bit of cumin.

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It is difficult for those of us who have not served to understand what that act means. The experience is non-transferrable – something we can read about, hear stories, watch the news on, but only those who have been there can know.

Until recently, after his passing, I did not know how much being a Veteran meant to my 91-year-old Great Uncle Vinnie. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry 89th Division under General Patton. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was also part of the first wave of infantry men to liberate Dauchen, the first concentration camp to be entered by the Allied Forces. Until days before his passing, he served as Secretary and Treasurer of his local American Legion.

He was a jovial man – always laughing, dancing and loving life. If you really knew him though you knew he carried the memories of his service with him always – though he didn’t show the shock and trauma he had experienced outwardly. He appreciated the comforts of home – dry socks, a full belly, and a hot cup of coffee (he never refused a meal, even if he had just eaten, or a cup of freshly brewed coffee).

Knowing this about him and his time in the service, I’m proud to know our coffee and brewers are providing that comfort to many of our service women and men.

While abroad, soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan can visit one of Holy Joe’s Cafes to sip fresh Green Mountain Coffee and relax with their fellow servicemen. So far, we’ve sent over 13,500 lbs of bagged coffee and over 9 million K-Cup Portion Packs.

And at their deployment and arrival home we work with Pease Greeters at the PortsmouthInternational Airport at Pease, NH to provide a warm farewell and welcome home. We provide coffee (around 1,000 cups per month!) and Keurig Single-Cup Brewers so that great coffee, freshly brewed is available to the troops as they pass through the airport. Food, gifts and ceremony are all part of the Pease Greeters send-offs and welcome-backs.

For those of you who have served, we thank you for your sacrifice both during and after your service. We wish all of you the comforts of home on this Veteran’s Day – warm socks, a full belly and certainly great coffee!

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In early winter 1992, eleven Green Mountain Coffee Roaster employees embarked on the “maiden voyage” of employee trips to origin.  This trip was headed to the La Minita estate in Costa Rica.  Travelers included Stacy Lang, Steve Sabol, Sandy Hormel (Julius), Deb Eckert, Russ Kramer, Cathy Baker, Todd Barrup, Jim Gilson, Dan Feeney, Dan Cox, and me.  The purpose of the trip was to learn about coffee and coffee processing, and to see part of this coffee producing country.

Our first few days were spent visiting the farm’s wet and dry mill on the outskirts of San Jose, and visiting the farm, which is where we stayed.  Most of us stayed in guest cottages, and we all had our meals in the main house.

Each morning we would gather on the veranda of the main house where we would enjoy cups of freshly roasted La Minita coffee as we took in the 50 mile view of the mountains above the Tarrazu River.  As we looked down, below us was a modest sized kidney-shaped swimming pool, surrounded by carefully manicured coffee plants.

The farm had a dental and medical clinic, and housing for its workers, and carefully applied agrochemicals to produce a very well regarded conventional coffee.  Over the few days on the farm, we learned a lot about coffee production, and the strides that the farm took to respect both the environment and its workers.

After days on the farm, we headed toward the Pacific coast, where we spent a day in the area of the Manuel Antonio National Park – a beautiful stretch of beach.  The jungle abutted the beach, and one morning as we sat on the sandy beach, a large family of white faced capuchin monkeys arrived looking for handouts.  About an hour after they left, the iguanas arrived.  These were no small iguanas, for some approached 3 feet in length.

The following day we visited the Monteverde cloud forest, where we hiked and visited the large butterfly farm there.  Gradually we worked our way back toward San Jose, where on our last day we went river rafting down the Reventazon River.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.  Costa Rica is a country with spectacular natural beauty, and with very little of the poverty that is so evident in other countries in Central America.

When the team returned, we re-grouped to discuss what we had seen.  From this discussion emerged a program to recognize farms and cooperatives that demonstrate a respect for the environment and the workers.  This program was known as our Stewardship Program, and was our flagship coffee program between 1993 and 2000.

The entire team from this maiden voyage was very happy to see employee trips to origin institutionalized.  There is nothing like “being there” to understand coffee and the people who grow it.

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Over the past couple weeks employees in our Vermont locations got into the Halloween spirit through volunteering!

Our night shift employees at our Waterbury and Williston locations carved more than 60 pumpkins for The Haunted Forest. The Haunted Forest is a non-profit event dedicated to producing a fun and exciting community Halloween event. The Forest is an event that combines outdoor theater, special effects, the magic of the night forest and the “spirit” of Halloween. Guests are led by mysterious guides through a dark forest path lined with over 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns and encounter characters performing Halloween-themed scenes.

The Essex Staffing Team also helped the Forest out. They “spider-webbed” the forest, put out the carved pumpkins along the trail and “roofed” the dark rooms!

The Haunted Forest is an important community event and we are excited to have been part of the fun!

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Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Green MountainCoffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding reinforcing a joint commitment to support Latin American and Caribbean coffee farmers at USAID’s Partnership Forum. We are excited about the potential of this alliance to drive positive social, environmental, and economic development within coffee-growing communities, today and in the future.

We’re already collaborating with USAID on two projects within coffee-growing communities. We are working together in the Sustainable Sourcing Partnership Project with Fair Trade USA, which promotes biodiversity, conservation and environmental education among Brazil’s coffee-growing communities.

Save the Children Nicaragua Project

Additionally, we are working with Save the Children, 4^th Sector Health and selected communities within coffee-growing regions in Nicaragua and Honduras to improve food security, income generation potential, and health.

This public-private partnership has been and will continue to be an important part of our efforts to encourage ongoing health and prosperity for the coffee-farming families and communities in our supply chain.

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