Larry’s Beans Teams Up With Catholic Relief Services

June 30, 2010 - PRLog -- (Raleigh, NC) June 30, 2010- Raleigh coffee roaster Larry’s Beans and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have teamed up to support efforts to provide assistance to small-farm cooperatives. CRS works directly with farmer cooperatives to increase the amount of coffee they grow and improve their coffee quality using sustainable farming practices.  The CRS Fair Trade program invites Catholics to support these small-farm cooperatives by purchasing coffee through Larry’s Beans. Larry’s Beans donates a portion of their Catholic coffee sales to support the CRS program.

“Larry’s Beans represents the qualities that we strive for at CRS,” says Katy Cantrell, the Fair Trade program advisor for Catholic Relief Services.  “Their commitment to community development work is a perfect match for the CRS and our projects.  Larry’s Beans truly lives out the Fair Trade principles that they support.  I can’t wait to educate people about our work together.”  

Larry’s Beans assists Catholic Relief Services by donating a percentage of Catholic coffee sales back to CRS.  Customers can click on a CRS link on the Larry’s Beans website to have their online purchases go to support the CRS program.  www.larrysbeans.com/faith-based-programs.
“CRS shares our goal of strengthening Fair Trade relationships with family farm cooperatives and supporting farmer partners in practicing sustainable farming methods.  We want to create opportunities that benefit others.” says Larry Larson, founder of Larry’s Beans.  “CRS works hard to provide assistance in these areas and I can’t think of a better organization for us to support.”

About Catholic Relief Services

CRS was established by the Roman Catholic Bishops of the United States and began in 1943 during World War II to help refugees in Europe.  The official humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the U.S. currently provides assistance in more than 100 countries without regard to race, religion or nationality.  CRS helps small- farm cooperatives by providing technical assistance to help these organizations increase productivity, improve coffee quality, grow their markets, and strengthen their organizations. CRS invites Catholics to learn about Fair Trade and support small scale coffee farmers through their Fair Trade program. For more information please call  866-608-5978 or visit www.crsfairtrade.org or www.crs.org.


About Larry’s Beans

Since 1994 the mission of Larry’s Beans has been to find the best coffees in the world and roast them with precision and artistry. The company is a founding member of Cooperative Coffees, the first and only group of independent coffee roasters that buys green beans directly from Fair Trade coffee co-ops.
Larry’s Beans builds Fair Trade relationships with small farm cooperatives, buys only Organic, Shade Grown coffees and supports farming partners in practicing sustainable farming methods. Larry’s Beans cultivates relationships that benefit people, animals, and the environment. In 2006, Larry’s Beans was the recipient of the Sustainable NC Award for triple-bottom line business. For more information, please visit www.larrysbeans.com.