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“Have a little extra? Need a little more? Ask about our suspended coffee program.”
That’s the message hand-chalked on a sign at Bread By Us, a Wellington Street West storefront that’s cozily warm and redolent of baking sourdough loaves and brewing java on a dismal April morning.
“If someone would like to pay their change forward, they can say ‘I’d like to suspend a coffee,’ the barista will make a note of that so we can give it to any future customer who needs it,” explained baker and co-owner Jessica Carpinone, 30.
A growing global movement that’s all over social media, suspended coffee was inspired by the caffè sospeso of Neapolitan cafés, where someone who’d had good luck would pay for two coffees, drink one and leave the other for someone in need.
In Ottawa, Bread By Us, an artisanal small-batch bakery which opened in diverse Hintonburg in 2013, has been an early adopter.
“Our idea was that we wanted to find ways to welcome people into our shop from all levels of income status,” Carpinone said. “This was a really simple way of doing that as a small business.”
Since then, more than 2,000 people have claimed a free loaf of bread or cup of coffee – anything in the store can be suspended – while the program has been a boon to building both a small business and a sense of community.
There were naysayers at first.
“Right when we first started out, people asked questions like how do you know that people aren’t going to abuse this?” Carpinone said.”We have found that it has been the absolute opposite of that, that some of the people who come in to claim their free food and drink, when they are able to give back, they do and in super generous quantities.”
“One of our beloved friends who has since passed away, he came in for the better part of a year and once a month he gave $50 to the program to pass on to his friends and his community. He was somebody who clearly couldn’t afford but still wanted to do it anyway.
“That really struck me. His generosity was incredible.”
One of Carpinone’s customers, who worked taking calls for a crisis line, told her that she’d advise the lonely to go to a coffee shop and chat with the barista.
“People really do go to coffee shop and bakeries to ease the day-to-day pains,” Carpinone said. “It’s a really big shame that people who arguably need it the most aren’t welcome in these comforting spaces all the time.
“We’ve all done that, crawled out of bed, stumbled into a local coffee shop and felt a little bit better afterward.”
Regular Shannon McDonald, sitting at a stool enjoying her own coffee, said she’s seen people both give and receive the “little escape” of sitting down to enjoy a cup or take home a loaf of the shop’s chewy, tangy sourdough.
“It’s a luxury that a lot of people can’t take advantage of, whether it’s a permanent situation or just temporary, they’re down on their luck,” McDonald said. “Sometimes just being able to escape from the stress of reality and come here and be able to enjoy their luxuries is really special.
“Knowing that it was provided by your neighbours and your community, I think that’s a nice feeling, someone else is kind of looking out for you. You’re buying it, you have no idea who is going to claim it and the person who claims it has no idea who contributed it.
“It’s a fantastic community.”
查看原文...
That’s the message hand-chalked on a sign at Bread By Us, a Wellington Street West storefront that’s cozily warm and redolent of baking sourdough loaves and brewing java on a dismal April morning.
“If someone would like to pay their change forward, they can say ‘I’d like to suspend a coffee,’ the barista will make a note of that so we can give it to any future customer who needs it,” explained baker and co-owner Jessica Carpinone, 30.
A growing global movement that’s all over social media, suspended coffee was inspired by the caffè sospeso of Neapolitan cafés, where someone who’d had good luck would pay for two coffees, drink one and leave the other for someone in need.
In Ottawa, Bread By Us, an artisanal small-batch bakery which opened in diverse Hintonburg in 2013, has been an early adopter.
“Our idea was that we wanted to find ways to welcome people into our shop from all levels of income status,” Carpinone said. “This was a really simple way of doing that as a small business.”
Since then, more than 2,000 people have claimed a free loaf of bread or cup of coffee – anything in the store can be suspended – while the program has been a boon to building both a small business and a sense of community.
There were naysayers at first.
“Right when we first started out, people asked questions like how do you know that people aren’t going to abuse this?” Carpinone said.”We have found that it has been the absolute opposite of that, that some of the people who come in to claim their free food and drink, when they are able to give back, they do and in super generous quantities.”
“One of our beloved friends who has since passed away, he came in for the better part of a year and once a month he gave $50 to the program to pass on to his friends and his community. He was somebody who clearly couldn’t afford but still wanted to do it anyway.
“That really struck me. His generosity was incredible.”
One of Carpinone’s customers, who worked taking calls for a crisis line, told her that she’d advise the lonely to go to a coffee shop and chat with the barista.
“People really do go to coffee shop and bakeries to ease the day-to-day pains,” Carpinone said. “It’s a really big shame that people who arguably need it the most aren’t welcome in these comforting spaces all the time.
“We’ve all done that, crawled out of bed, stumbled into a local coffee shop and felt a little bit better afterward.”
Regular Shannon McDonald, sitting at a stool enjoying her own coffee, said she’s seen people both give and receive the “little escape” of sitting down to enjoy a cup or take home a loaf of the shop’s chewy, tangy sourdough.
“It’s a luxury that a lot of people can’t take advantage of, whether it’s a permanent situation or just temporary, they’re down on their luck,” McDonald said. “Sometimes just being able to escape from the stress of reality and come here and be able to enjoy their luxuries is really special.
“Knowing that it was provided by your neighbours and your community, I think that’s a nice feeling, someone else is kind of looking out for you. You’re buying it, you have no idea who is going to claim it and the person who claims it has no idea who contributed it.
“It’s a fantastic community.”
查看原文...
