The group will help Coffee Kids raise its goal of $20,000 for food security projects as they walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain

From today, a small group of coffee lovers will spread their love of quality, sustainable coffee as they walk the Way of St. James, also called El Camino de Santiago, 111 kilometres from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The group will carry with them coffee from some of the best producers and roasters in the world, brewing freshly ground Aeropress coffees for other pilgrims along the way. They will also spread the word about the problem of seasonal hunger in the coffeelands and will collect money for the international non-profit organisation, Coffee Kids, whose GROW It Forward campaign seeks to raise $20,000 for food security projects in Latin America by the end of October 2012.

In much of Central America, the coffee harvest ends around the end of February. Three months later, most families have spent their meager income and must find a way to feed their families for the remainder of the year. Coffee-farming families face three to eight months of hunger every year. These months are referred to as the thin months or los meses flacos.

Coffee Kids’ projects that establish family gardens, worm-composting sites and provide nutritional workshops help families ensure an adequate supply of fresh, local food, minimizing the impact of rising global food prices and the lack of income during this time of year.

By helping Coffee Kids’ GROW It Forward campaign, the coffee professionals who have chosen to walk the Camino de Santiago will be teaching other pilgrims that a good quality coffee is not only a matter of brewing, it is also about quality of life for coffee producers. Roasters and coffee companies can sponsor the initiative by sending the group a 250- to 500-gram bag of their best coffee and by making a donation of 50 €, split 50 percent with Coffee Kids and 50 percent to cover expenses. Interested walkers are also invited to request information about participating. For more details please contact Elisabet at sereno.elisabet@gmail.com.

Individuals can donate directly to the campaign viawww.coffeekids.org/donate/growand list “Camino” as the campaign name. All the money collected will support Coffee Kids’ projects that seek to end seasonal hunger in the coffeelands.

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