Epworth’s Social Justice Fair Trade Initiative is pleased to offer Fair Trade products through the Equal Exchange Cooperative. You will find us in the narthex on the first Sunday of each month. We will be selling organic coffee, tea, and chocolates. Equal Exchange partners with farmer cooperatives who are democratically organized, sharing resources and decision-making among their members. Collectively, they gain crucial market access and provide jobs in their communities.
The vision of Equal Exchange is to build alternative supply chains that, against all odds, give farmer co-ops a fighting chance and a seat at the table. Great strides have been made and yet the mission is more threatened today than it was 10 years ago.
In the wider food system, corporations control everything from seeds to supply and price, while relentlessly chipping away at the regulations that inform and protect consumers. These forces have taken power away from the people and continue to threaten our planet. It is believed that by organizing together, a stronger, more democratic food system that puts power back in the hands of small farmer communities can be a reality.
Equal Exchange’s mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.
We are proud to help foster this mission by offering these products to you - thanks to Jackie Shockley. Any profits are distributed to Epworth’s Social Justice Group and used to support other social justice initiatives in the church.
