Bike to Work Day Riders Enjoy a Morning Perk with Fair Trade Certified Coffee

Bike to Work Day riders were treated to Fair Trade Certified coffee for the second year in a row as part of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's 18th Annual Bike to Work Day, Thursday, May 13th.

All of the coffee served at the events 17 morning energizer stations was Fair Trade Certified thanks to the efforts of the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition and five local Fair Trade Certified coffee roasters including America's Best Coffee Roasting Company, Capricorn Coffees, Equator Estate Coffees & Teas, Sugarlump Coffee Lounge, and Wild Card Roasters.

Volunteers from the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition were up early in the morning brewing over 85 gallons of Fair Trade coffee to fuel the morning ride of a record breaking 100,000 plus participants. In recognition of their efforts, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition prominently posted signage at all of the morning energizer stations explaining their organization’s commitment to Fair Trade and included statements of support in all of the outreach materials for the event including their website, e-newsletter and the summer edition of their print newsletter, the Tube Times.

This year’s Bike to Work Day was busy than ever with ridership in San Francisco’s Market Street corridor up more than one third from last year. According to the SFMTA, cyclists accounted for more than 75% of all traffic on Market Street between the hours of 7:30 and 9:30 am.

Cyclists old and new were joined by a record number of elected officials including Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisors Eric Mar, Carmen Chu, Chris Daly, Bevan Dufty, David Campos, Sophie Maxwell and John Avalos, along with SFMTA Director Nathaniel Ford, SFMTA Chairman Tom Nolan, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Director of the Department of Public Works Ed Reiskin, General Manager of Parks and Recreation Phil Ginsburg and Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting.


Together city leaders and members of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition gathered on the steps of City Hall to celebrate an exciting array of new bicycle improvements that were added to the streets in time for the event including new green separated bike lanes on Market Street and five new on-street bike parking corrals on Valencia Street’s vibrant and busy commercial corridor.

The event was San Francisco’s contribution to the international celebration of World Fair Trade Day, which once again drew tens of thousands of supporters to hundreds of citywide events like ours during the two week period between May 1st and May 15th. The Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition is proud to add the over 2,500 people who enjoyed coffee, the hundred thousand plus who rode their bike to work and the tens of thousands more who received word of this event via the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s outreach to the rapidly growing official tally for World Fair Trade Day 2010.

Thanks again to all of our sponsors for providing the coffee to make this happen, to our intrepid volunteers that stayed up all night to brew it and to the people of San Francisco for turning out in such great numbers to show such a simple act as riding your bike to work or choosing Fair Trade Certified coffee can change the world.

See you all at Bike to Work Day 2011!


Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition Member, Heather Franzese poses with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom after a quick cup of Weaver's Organic Fair Trade coffee at the Mid-Market Energizer Station.

For a complete set of Bike to Work Day photos click here:

Click here to view the entire photo set.

For a taste of our contribution click here:

Click here to view the entire photo set.

Bike to Work Day Goes Fair Trade

All 17 Morning Energizer Stations Serving Fair Trade Certified Coffee


Thursday, May 13th is Bike to Work Day in San Francisco and all seventeen morning energizer stations will be serving Fair Trade Certified coffee.

Join commuters old and new in making a statement about the importance of cycling and raise a cup for the world’s farmers. Stop by one of the 17 morning energizer stations and load up on Fair Trade Certified coffee, healthy snacks and even a convenient tote bag for future commutes.

Fair Trade Certified products directly support a better life for farming families through fair prices, direct trade, community development and environmental stewardship. When you choose Fair Trade Certified coffee along with your morning ride, you are choosing a better life for the world’s farmers, a cleaner environment and a more sustainable commute.

Special thanks to America's Best Coffee Roasting Company, Capricorn Coffees, Sugarlump Coffee Lounge, Wild Card Roasters, and Equator Estate Coffees & Teas for providing the coffee for San Francisco Bike to Work Day 2010 and Alter Eco Americas for providing the sugar.

Remember to look for the Fair Trade Certified label when you shop and look for our illustrious, Fair Trade Certified Bike to Work Day sponsors at each of the following stations:

Bernal/Mission, Cesar Chavez @ Harrison, Sugarlump Coffee Lounge
City College, Ram Plaza, Phelan Campus, TBD
Civic Center City Hall, Polk St. steps, Wild Card Roasters
Downtown, Market @ Battery (7:30am-2pm), Wild Card Roasters
Embarcadero, Ferry Building, Wild Card Roasters
Inner Richmond, Cabrillo @ Arguello, Equator Estate Coffees & Teas
Inner Sunset, Irving @ 7th Ave., America's Best Coffee Roasting Company
Mid Market, Market @ 12th St., Capricorn Coffees
Mission, Valencia @ 17th St., Wild Card Roasters
Presidio, Main Post, Halleck @ Lincoln, Equator Estate Coffees & Teas Incorporated
SF State, 19th Ave. @ Holloway (8-10am), Starbucks (Café Estima)
SOMA, Caltrain, 4th @ Townsend, Capricorn Coffees
SOMA, Folsom @ 7th St., Capricorn Coffees
UCSF, Medical Center, Irving @ 2nd Ave., America's Best Coffee Roasting Company
UCSF Mission Bay, 16th @ Owens St., Sugarlump Coffee Lounge
3rd Street, Chesar Chavez @ 3rd Street, Sugarlump Coffee Lounge
Kaiser Hospital, Geary @ St. Josephs, Starbucks (Café Estima)

For more information on Bike to Work Day and how you can get involved visit:
http://www.sfbike.org/?btwd

To download a map of energizer stations and commuter convoy departure locations visit:
http://www.sfbike.org/?btwd2010

This event is occurring in solidarity with celebrations for World Fair Trade Day 2010.

Join the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition and the San Francisco Bike Coalition in celebrating World Fair Trade Day at home on or around May 8th.

For more information on how you can get involved please visit:
http://www.fairtraderesourcenetwork.org

A Special Message from Lauren Van Ham and the Berkeley Fair Trade Campaign

“Hello, Fair Trade Friends,

For all of you who were able to attend Berkeley's City Council meeting last night, THANK YOU! And for those of you who could not be there, but were sending good Fair Trade vibes to the East Bay, we felt them! (Do I sound like I'm from Berkeley, or what???)

Although the City Council decision to defer to the City Manager for review means a delay for the resolution, it certainly seems the review will only add credibility and strength to the decision and it will likely pass at the meeting on June 1st. Assuming this happens, it would be fun to celebrate with anyone willing to visit Berkeley that night. Stay tuned for some Fair Trade party details....

In the meantime, thank you again for the show of support. And SPECIAL thanks to Billy and Carolyn who provided succinct and impactful public testimonies. Wishing you all great fun as you recognize and celebrate World Fair Trade Day”

Lauren Van Ham
Chair, Berkeley Fair Trade campaign

Visit the Berkeley Fair Trade Campaign here:
http://fairtradeberkeley.blogspot.com/

Congratulations San Francisco on the First Ever Fair Trade Wine Night!

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in attending the tremendously successful Fair Trade Wine Night last night. We had an outstanding outreach campaign via Facebook, and with the additional buzz generated by the local press our Fair Trade Wine Night was indeed the talk of town.

The night was bustling at The Hidden Vine, where patrons excited about the inaugural Wine Night wanted to learn more about getting involved in future events. Also painting the town red (and white) was Blush Wine Bar, as it managed to completely sell out its Fair Trade wine selection!

Wine is breaking in as the new Fair Trade category in the US, and it has grown leaps and bounds with just over a year under its belt. Last night was a wonderful opportunity to increase consumer awareness about Fair Trade wine and a perfect example of one way that consumers can help Fair Trade grow by creating market linkages in the US for wine farmers. Let’s keep the enthusiasm, momentum, and energy going about Fair Trade wine.

Thanks again, and hope to see you all for another night of Fair Trade wine!

Visit the official Fair Trade Wine Night site:
http://www.fairtradewinenight.com/

and the Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102599169775704