802 Coffee has launched a new ‘Ceres Blend’ with coffee grown exclusively by women farmers. The Vermont roaster will contribute 20 percent of all proceeds from the blend to Food 4 Farmers to support food security and economic autonomy for women in coffee-growing regions.
“Food 4 Farmers is doing vital work helping women in coffee communities confront seasonal hunger and poverty,” said Bob Watson, owner of 802 Coffee. “Investing in women farmers contributes to better nutrition, livelihoods, savings, education, health, and a host of other needs in rural farming communities.”
The launch of Ceres Blend on October 1 coincided with International Coffee Day, the theme of which this year is ‘Women in Coffee.’ Women coffee farmers and their families are still confronting food insecurity driven by reliance on coffee as their sole source of income. With coffee prices dropping below $1 this year, our work developing new on-farm businesses that supplement coffee income, organic food production alongside coffee, and other strategies tailored to the needs and resources of communities where we partner, have taken on a new sense of urgency.
802 Coffee’s Ceres Blend is named for the Roman Goddess of Agriculture whose statue has stood on top of Vermont’s Capitol Dome for over a century.
“We wanted to take the occasion of International Coffee Day to add our voices to those calling for increased gender equity throughout the coffee industry,” Coffee Resources Manager Chris Pyatak said. “We hope that Ceres Blend can do that by purchasing coffee from woman-run farms and supporting the great work Food 4 Farmers is doing on issues of food security and women’s empowerment in coffee producing regions.”
