• September 2023

  • Uplifting local communities with hot coffee and conversation

As an international organisation with global reach, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to touch the lives of individuals across the globe. At JDE Peet’s we are proud of initiatives that contribute to our purpose: to unleash the possibilities of coffee and tea to create a better future. This article explores one of these initiatives, our monthly TafelCafé at Bremer Food Bank in Germany.

 

Connecting People

Our monthly TafelCafé, Bremer Food Bank, Germany

In Bremen, where JDE Peet’s has its German offices, the Bremer Tafel has been collecting and distributing food to those in need since May 1995. Today, approximately 250 locals visit the food bank every day. The running of this establishment is only possible thanks to financial and in-kind donations from the citizens of Bremen and support of the consumer goods industry. Coffee is an important and valuable product for the food bank, bringing joy to those who might be experiencing some of their harder days.

At JDE Peet’s we go beyond donating coffee. For the past eight years, JDE Peet’s employees have been offering the Bremer Tafel their help, time, and warmth. What started as a more informal volunteering programme in 2015 has grown into an initiative in which every JDE Peet’s employee in Germany has the opportunity to participate. Each month a group of employees visits the food bank during their workday. While individuals and families wait their turn to receive their groceries our employees are there offering a hot cup of coffee and a friendly conversation.

We've been running our monthly TafelCafé at Bremer Food Bank since 2015, offering warm cups of Jacobs coffee to those in need.

Coffee is in itself something special for the people who visit our Tafel, because it is not one of the standard groceries we hand out every day. The TafelCafé from JDE Peet's is also a great concept, because as a Tafel we could not offer such a great service. People are very happy every time the JDE Peet's team is back pouring out hot Jacobs coffee.”

Uwe Schneider, Chairman of Bremer Tafel

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Bringing to life our connecting people pillar

During TafelCafé one experiences first-hand that coffee has the ability to create real moments of connection. Sparking conversations, learning about the backgrounds, passions, challenges and dreams of others, our employees are finding themselves fuelled by a sense of purpose and feeling more united and grounded in one of our three core sustainability pillars: Connecting People.

People don't want to go to work just for a paycheck. People want to be part of something bigger and better. They want to make an impact. That’s why companies like JDE Peet’s have a purpose. It’s what drives us to do more.”

Dirk Friedrichs, Corporate & Government Affairs Manager

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A bigger impact: expanding to more countries and introducing a ‘Social Day’

In order to scale our impact, we are constantly looking to roll out further initiatives in other locations. As an example of this, we launched a spinoff of our TafelCafé in Vienna. Since 2019, our Austrian employees have been volunteering and giving out our coffee at Social Markets (SOMA), an important meeting place for people in need and a shopping opportunity for individuals and families with low incomes.

More generally, we have officially launched our “Social Day” initiative for all JDE Peet’s employees in the DACH region. This initiative allows our employees to take one day off every year for the benefit of society or nature. Over 100 associates have participated in this initiative since its launch in February 2022, with activities including volunteering at social institutions and on organic farms. Our employees share their experiences on our internal communication platform, inspiring others to do the same.

Sustainability is a journey. There is always more that we can be doing. We are striving to bring everyone forward together, to connect our communities and be one of the coffee industry’s greatest assets. We look forward to engaging with both our people and local communities to create further initiatives, and will share more with you soon.

Since its launch in February 2022, over 100 of our associates in the DACH region have used their ‘Social Day’, a day-off to do volunteering work, offering their time, help and kindness at locations including hospices and organic farms.