The Worlds Largest Salmon BBQ 2024

Redwood Coast Recreation Center Benefit

On Saturday, August 17, a benefit was held in the Sea Ranch Del Mar Center to help raise funds for the Redwood Coast Recreation Center which was lost in a tragic arson fire. This event was joyous and delicious with an array of sweet treats and decadent cheeses, to pair with wine and, of course, great coffee from us.

Cheeses From Penny Royal Farm, Valley Ford Creamery, Marin French Cheese, and Bohemian Creamery

Wines from Handley Cellars, Woodenhead, Wild Hog, Fort Ross, and Pacific Sar Wineries

Desserts from Franny's Cup and Saucer

Goodies from Trinks Cafe and 2 Fish Bakeries

• A single origin light roast from Guatemala
• A medium roast blend with our award-winning Mocha Java
• Our SongBird Colombian dark roast, plus
• A delicious decaffeinated offering – Royal Decaf.

The largest annual fundraiser for The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens happened on Saturday and Sunday, August 3rd and 4th... and Thanksgiving Coffee Company was there!

Art in The Gardens 2024

The 31st year of Art in the Gardens was a special weekend which brought together a diverse audience, including art enthusiasts, music lovers, local community members, and dedicated volunteers. Visitors were able to see the stunning dahlias in full bloom, enjoy local beer, wine, food, coffee, live music, ariel and dance performances, and support various artisans who generously donate a portion of their sales to the Gardens.

With more than 2,200 visitors and generous donors contributing a total of $74,367.96 (after expenses!) it's clear that Art in the Gardens continues to be a resounding success. This level of support is a testament to the event's popularity and the strong backing of the community. The funds raised will undoubtedly have a significant positive impact on the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, allowing for continued growth and improvements.

Jennifer Brown at the Thanksgiving Coffee Company booth

Art in The Gardens in full swing

"47 Acres to the Sea", the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is a local treasure!

Circus Mecca took flight!

“CasparFest”

The annual fundraiser for The Caspar Community Center happened on Sunday, July 21st...and Thanksgiving Coffee Company was there!

Jennifer and Joe serving Thanksgiving Coffee

CasparFest 2024

The annual major fundraiser for The Caspar Community Center “CasparFest” happened on Sunday the 21st... and Thanksgiving Coffee Company was there! Hundreds of attendees including the local “Casparados” were in attendance with many other friends from around the area and tourists as well.

The town of Caspar, a former lumber mill and cattle ranch, is a small community, halfway between Fort Bragg and the Village of Mendocino, surrounded on three sides by CA State Parks (Jughandle, Jackson State Demonstration Forest and Russian Gulch) and the fourth side is bordered by the Pacific Ocean. Officially, Caspar is an unincorporated part of Mendocino County with a population of about 500 as per the 2020 census. I'm almost positive that every single one of them was there - either helping to make food, serve guests, or helping in other ways to make the magic happen at this largest single fundraiser for their Community Center annually.

Jennifer Brown and Joe Seta at the Thanksgiving Coffee Company booth

Caspar Community Center in full festivities

The Casper Community Center is really the town hub offering an array of classes and a location for events, including concerts, community breakfasts, meetings, and much more.

There was an abundance of vendors. food and music all day from bluegrass, Americana, salsa, folk, Jazz, and other ethnic music with many types of dance including youth from Caspar Ballet and Grupo Folklorico, and general boogieing for 8 hours. Music provided by Tropiqueño, Gwyneth Moreland and Angie Heimann, The Old Growth Jazz Club, and Whiskey Wristwatch.

Tropiqueño inciting the dancers to groove!

Listen to the Farmers of Namanyonyi

Thanksgiving Coffee recently participated in a study called “The Farmers Thriving Index” conducted by 60 decibels who tracks social impact measurements on the ground directly from the farmers themselves. The primary goal was to confirm the findings we had discovered and to validate our shift in focus to “Health and Happiness” as the best way to support our coffee farmers at the Namanyonyi cooperative in Uganda.

85% of the Farmers Report Improved Health

The findings of this report have exceeded our initial report on our Clean Water Project by showing that 85% of the Farmers interviewed report improved household health because of the water filters, and 78% report a reduction in healthcare costs.

Members of the Namanyonyi Community of Shalom Interfaith Cooperative during a clean water training in Uganda

A total Shift in the Way We Support Farmers

This is a huge moment for us as it confirms what our Co-founder Paul Katzeff has be developing over the past several years. The concept is that when the health of the family is increased, the wealth of the household simultaneously increases as well. This study proved that 78% of the Namanyonyi coffee farmers income has been freed from health care costs. That is a huge change, and a big influx of money that can be invested into the wellbeing of the family, rather than going to doctors and medicines.

This is a total shift from the way our company looked at supporting farmers in the past. We thought that if we paid more for the beans it would translate into a better lifestyle for the farmers. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and after 30 years we can now prove this new concept. 

Results from Farmers Thriving Index , pg 14

Potential for Entire Industry Shift

Learn More

The Namanyonyi co-op study was also included in a larger index with a focus on farmers nationwide in Uganda, as well as Rwanda. To learn more about the national findings you can read it here in the Daily Coffee News.

2024 Coffee Farmer Thriving Index

It is our hope that the coffee industry will learn to shift towards the common good of all farmers with health and happiness for all.

Enjoy the Delicious Peace coffees grown by the Namanyonyi Co-op

Thanksgiving Coffee Company has been in the coffee business for a long time, and the playing field has really shifted, in fact undeniably the world has changed alot since 2020. In light of this accelerated movement and shifting tides, Thanksgiving Coffee realized the importance of checking in with you, our customers, and all who we work with. On the recommendation of our esteemed B Corp consultant Heather Paulsen, we decided to engage in a Materiality Assessment and have her lead us through the process. Now we have done it, gathered the information, and we are excited to share the results with you!

To determine Thanksgiving Coffee Company’s list of material issues, Heather guided us through the following methodology. First we did background research and analysis of other businesses and nonprofits, including completed materiality assessments, impact reports, and their websites. We held a series of core team meetings to develop our preliminary list of material issues. We came to identify these three categories: Resources, People, and Governance. Then our core team reviewed the list, made revisions, created definitions of each issue, and made boundary mapping. Here are the issues in each category.

In this phase, a series of interviews and surveys were conducted with our employees and customers, including distributors, retailers, cafes/food service accounts, vendors, trade associations and nonprofit partners.

Then, the results were compiled from 21 employees, and 241 direct consumers through our outreach efforts from calls, emails, and social media. With all of this information we were able to map out the material issues into the matrix you see below.

2023 Materiality Assessment Results

In the image above you will see the main material issues that rose to the top were in the category of People (in blue) with human rights being the very highest on the matrix, followed by sourcing practices, product quality, and organic & regenerative agriculture.

The results on the left axis of the matrix are the external stakeholders with results from our distributors, retailers, cafes/food service accounts, vendors, trade associations and nonprofit partners. On the bottom axis are the internal Thanksgiving Coffee Employees results. The matrix is a combined view of both external and internal results and has three shades of purple to delineate the differences of: moderate, high, and very high ratings. Note that none of the identified issues fell below the number 6 as a concern, that is why the grid goes from 6-10.

“Our work changes communities, from survival to prospering.

It’s a chain of care, love and support.” GoCoffeeGo, TCC Coffee Distributor

To understand where our third party certifications ranked, we put together another matrix following the same principles. Here you will see that the most regarded and highly ranked certification is USA Organic, followed by Fairtrade America ,  Smithsonian Bird Friendly and then B Corp Certification.

What You Said

"I found you because of your focus on the ethical stewardship of our planet. The coffee is great. Thank you for leading by example!" Anonymous survey comment