The Sweet Taste of Fair Trade

Description: A social and educational event that allows your community to come together to taste Fair Trade-certified goods while learning about the significance of Fair Trade and how it is part of our Catholic social justice teaching.

Get Ready

• Prep Time:
  • In Advance:
    • Ordering the goods takes several weeks (check shipping time to your area and whether there are restrictions on any goods due to temperatures).
    • Begin advertising six weeks in advance.
    • Recruit volunteers eight to 10 weeks out.
    • Host a planning team meeting to put together details about eight weeks before the event.
    • If you wish to bring in a speaker, contact an organization like Catholic Relief Services three to four months in advance. They have individuals around the country familiar with the significance of fair trade and its connection to Catholic Social Teaching.
  • Day of:
    • Several hours to set up tables, chairs, food, start brewing coffee, etc.
    • Clean up: likely one or two hours.
    • Event time: about two hours.
• Volunteers Needed:
  • Planning team of six to 10 people:
    • Determine the theme of the event, decorations, speaker (if needed/desired), products to taste, etc.
    • The planning team may also make up the majority of volunteers on the day of the event.
  • Set-up volunteers:
    • The number of volunteers will depend on how much set-up is required at your location.
    • If you have to put up all the tables and chairs, you may want around 10 people or more (depending on the size of your event).
    • If you have maintenance staff that can help with the heavy lifting, you can get by with a small number of five or six people.
  • Event volunteers:
    • Two or three to maintain the coffee and related items.
    • Two or three to maintain the chocolate.
    • Two ro three to welcome people, take payments, etc.
    • A few spare volunteers to fill in gaps.
  • Clean-up volunteers:
    • You will want as many people here as possible to make it as easy and efficient!
    • The minimum you will want is five to six.
•  Supplies:
  • Foods to taste: Chocolate and coffee are the easiest. Other items can include olive oil, nuts, dried fruit — offered at Equal Exchange and other organizations listed in the Help section.
  • Foods to pair with the fair trade foods:
    • Cream, sugar, sugar substitute for the coffee.
    • Bread for the olive oil.
    • Crackers if you choose one of the spreads from Equal Exchange.
  • Serving items:
    • If you wish to pre-portion the tasting items (and make it easier to keep a budget), you will want to consider some individual serving products:
      • Use cupcake papers to offer a sample of chocolate.
      • Small paper cups to dispense coffee.
      • Small recyclable cups for olive oil or spreads.
    • Small plates and napkins.
    • Cups and pitchers for water or other beverages.
    • Gloves for those handling food and any other requirements your parish or health department may have.
  • Other food items:
    • You may want to serve something of more substance or something to cleanse the palate between tastings.
    • Shortbread cookies and mints can be at the tables.
  • Items for ice breakers, games, etc.
    • Prepare any handouts for games.
  • Welcome table supplies:
    • Registration lists (if you take registrations beforehand).
    • Nametags, markers, and pens.
    • Cash box and small cash for change.
  • Take home items:
    • You may wish to send people home with something. Small pouches with Fair Trade chocolate minis are a great option. Including a prayer, info on where to buy Fair Trade goods, etc., are good things to put in the pouch as well.
  • Items to sell:
    • Since buying in bulk is a great way to be good stewards of the funds, you will likely have extra food you can sell.
    • If you sell it at retail value, it can be a fundraiser for an organization or a group from your parish that is going to do service work.
  • Decorations:
    • To make the experience more fun or to fit with a particular holiday, decorations are a great consideration.
    • This year, we are offering it on the morning of Valentine’s Day. This provides an easy theme, fun decorations, and something to use in advertising.

• Reserve the Space: Access to a kitchen is ideal because you will need items like coffee creamer that will require refrigeration. The room should be large with space to set up round tables and chairs. If you have a speaker, you will also need space for them within the room, and to fit any needs they have (podium, microphone, screen, and other audio/visual needs).
• Ideal Group Size: 15 or more. You could do this as an intimate gathering, but it is an excellent event for large groups. Your maximum limit is dictated by the space available at your parish.
• Who is this for? Option A: Keep it as a young adult exclusive program, open to anyone in their 20s or 30s. Option B: Open it up to all in your parish. I think this is a great option so the talents, passions, and energy of the young adults can be shared with the larger community.
• When is a good time for this? We chose a Saturday morning. This timing keeps the event simple because a substantial meal does not have to be served. It is also a time when there are few conflicting events. Sunday afternoon would be another option.
• Publicize the Program:
  • Always be sure to go the traditional route. It will ensure that you catch those who are not new media savvy and allow the rest of the parish or community to know what your young adult ministry is doing:
    • Posters on church bulletin boards.
    • Notice (with attractive design and artwork) in the parish bulletin.
    • Announcement at Masses.
  • Utilize social media:
    • Create a Facebook event.
    • Utilize Twitter if relevant to your young adults.
    • Should your young adults be on Instagram, taking photos of the event is always a great addition.
  • Send out e-mails:
    • One email about four weeks prior to invite people.
    • A reminder to register about 10 days prior to the event.
    • A reminder three-four days before to those who register.

Prayer for Program Planner: God, that which we eat can not only nourish our own bodies, but also provide a better way of life for our brothers and sisters who work your earth. May we be mindful of their work and may this event bring to light the importance of fair wages and safe conditions for those who produce our food. Amen.

Community Building: The event is predominantly social as it is. However, to help the group more intentionally build community, consider an ice breaker, a bingo game, or a trivia game with questions about the foods, their histories, fair trade, etc.

Make It Happen

Planning Process:

• Choose date, time, and location. Check with your parish to find out if there are any major conflicting events.
• Reserve the space needed for the duration of set-up, the event, and clean-up.
• Recruit volunteers.
• Select and purchase the food items needed for the tasting.
• Select and purchase the serving items, decorations, and other supplies.
• Contact a speaker or presenter if desired.
• Prepare any items that are needed in advance:
  • Handouts for games and ice breakers.
  • Signs to note the different kinds of coffees, chocolates, and other food items. (Consider using blank place cards or writing on the cupcake papers).
  • You may want to create a “tasting sheet” so people can remember what items they enjoyed (it is also a great way for them to remember so they can purchase items if you use this as a fundraiser or are selling items that are left over).
  • Create any decorations.
• Prepare and distribute advertisements.
• Create a registration process: If you choose to charge people for the event, the registration can help you defray the cost and give you an estimated number of participants.
  • Look at online registration possibilities like Wufoo or other online options your parish may already be using.
  • You can use a free service like Google Docs to create an online registration form.
  • Allow people to pay online, if possible, or to send in a check by a certain date.
  • You may want to offer a lower price to register in advance and a higher price if they pay at the door.
• Prepare prayers, information sheets on where fair trade products are sold, and any other handouts.
• You may want to have information on upcoming young adult events.
• Make arrangements for a speaker or sound system for background music.

Day of the Event:

• Set-up:
  • Start brewing the coffee at least an hour in advance. If you are using the large percolators that most churches have on hand, you will want to be sure you know how they work, how much coffee to use based on each one’s size, and how long it takes to brew.
  • Break up candy or other items into their serving sizes.
  • Set up serving tables.
  • If needed, put up signs directing people to the room.
  • Decorate.
  • Set up a decorative welcome table with supplies.
• Hospitality:
  • Make sure you have people who are friendly and engaging to help with the welcome table.
  • Consider having a coat rack or closet to use if it is winter.
  • Encourage people to wear nametags to help the group mingle.
• The Event:
  • Have an emcee begin the session:
    • Start with a welcome, prayer, orientation.
    • Provide directions on how the event will go (Will people go up to the tables to retrieve their own samples? Will volunteers bring trays of the samples to them?)
  • Give people time to try things and socialize.
  • If they are provided cards to record how they liked particular products, make sure they have pens, and encourage them to share thoughts on the products.
  • Have information sheets on Fair Trade products, the benefits, and where people can purchase items.
• Clean-up:
  • Find out how the parish wants you to leave the room. They may ask you to have it set for the next event.
  • Be sure to dispose of any food items properly to avoid any unwanted visits by bugs.
  • Meet the safety standards for washing all service items.
  • Recycle anything and everything you can. You may want to find out if people compost and want to take any food items for their compost.

Ideas

• Consider bringing in a speaker from Catholic Relief Services or a similar organization. Equal Exchange may be another resource that can help you locate a speaker.
• Have music from the countries where the foods being tasted are grown.
• Consider adding in a Fair Trade products display or shop. Stores like Ten Thousand Villages or Equal Exchange can often help with this.
• While this event can be exclusively for young adults, consider having young adults host it for anyone in your parish community. It could be a great multi-generational event that showcases the skills and spirituality of your young adults to the broader community.
• See if you have parishioners who are in the coffee, chocolate, or other food business that relate to products being tasted. They may have demonstrations they could do on “making the perfect cup of coffee,” or specialty chocolates or recipes, etc.
• See if you have parishioners familiar with the areas where your products come from, such as Central America for coffee. Invite them to come and share their related stories.

Help

• Catholic Relief Services
• Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade Website (They are a great resource for information, prayers, stories, photos, etc.)
• Equal Exchange: An excellent source for Fair Trade items. You can buy in bulk from this website.
• Ten Thousand Villages
• Fair Trade USA: It might be helpful to download the Fair Trade Certified logo from their site so people know what to look for when shopping on their own.