How about buying a cup of coffee for someone you’ll never meet?
The idea, begun in Naples, Italy, and called “Suspended Coffee” — i.e., a customer pays for a coffee and “banks” it for someone less fortunate who could use a jolt of caffeine and good will — has become an international internet sensation with coffee shops in Europe and North America participating in the movement. The Facebook page alone has more than 28,000 “likes.”
The tradition of “suspended coffee” — or caffe sospeso” in Italian — is a long-standing tradition in Italy that increased in popularity after the Second World War. Agence France-Presse reported last week that the practice was starting to take hold in other European countries hit hard economically. More than 150 cafés in Bulgaria were taking part.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
On this side of the pond, Homegrown Hamilton, which embraces “socially just” causes, said manager Mike Pattison, has decided to join the effort.
“It’s a fantastic initiative so we decided to help out. We had been pretty much been doing it anyway, just not under a banner. During the winter weather, anybody that was homeless or anything else, we were giving away anything from . . . coffee or soup,” he said.
Pattison said the Facebook initiative was drawn to his attention by a regular client, local musician Dan Medakovic, and word has spread quickly since the coffee house signed on late last week.
So far, 15 “suspended coffees” have been purchased and 11 have been redeemed, Pattison said.
Pattison said staff members are always close to the coffeehouse’s front door, located in downtown Hamilton, and if they see someone walking by who looks like they could use a coffee and can’t afford it, they make an approach to that person and if the offer is accepted, they provide the coffee.
However, not everyone is enamoured with the idea.
In a March 29 posting on the website, Consumerist, columnist Laura Northrup raises a number of objections, including that coffee isn’t nutritious food for people who are hungry and that the lack of means testing could result in “greedy, cheap jerks” taking advantage of the others’ kindness.
“Throwing an extra coffee on your tab feels good and isn’t much of a sacrifice, but also consider other ways to help. Take some time to volunteer at a meal program. Pick up a second can of hearty soup at the grocery store and donate it,” Northrup concludes.
Likewise, plans for a west Toronto restaurant called Hey! at 89 Roncesvalles Ave. to have customers buy a meal token, which can be exchanged for a healthy sandwich — based on an initiative launched in Vancouver — has some anti-poverty activists less than thrilled.
“The idea of people handing out tokens on the street, it’s unpalatable. It feels undignified,” said Amanda Montgomery of The Stop, which operates a community food program.
Bruce DeMara is a former reporter for the Star, where he most recently covered city life. He previously reported for the Star’s entertainment section and on the data enterprise team.
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