As I mentioned in the last post, we recently signed up for the North River Roasters “CSCR” – community-supported coffee roasting. Basically, we now get coffee on a CSA subscription model. NRR is a local social venture in Poughkeepsie that will eventually be housed in the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory. From their website:
We want to build a business that makes a difference to our community and is both sustainable and ethical in every way possible. As a social enterprise we’re about making a difference, not just a profit. We are committed to:
- Sourcing coffee beans that provide fair wages to farmers and are grown sustainably
- Hiring local residents and youth, and paying a living wage
- Giving back to the local community
- Using sustainable and recyclable materials
Coffee is one of the things on our regular food purchase list that simply can’t be produced (as in grown) locally, so we were glad to find a way that we could get a product that was at least processed locally and where the processor was keeping a keen eye out for social and environmental concerns.
As usual, the local, socially conscious, green options comes at a cost premium. Our 13-week subscription delivers 12 ounces of whole beans a week at a cost of $156, or $16/lb of coffee. This is a little over a 50% cost increase from the coffee we’re used to buying, but since we seem to be able to fit it into our overall home budget we’re glad to be able to make the investment in a better product that supports our local community.
