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Kelowna coffee roaster partners with non-profit for specialty blends

Mamas for Mamas has three specialty blends sold from Tug 6
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Mamas for Mamas worked with local roaster Tug 6 to create three special blends. (Mamas for Mamas/Contributed)

A Kelowna craft coffee roaster is partnering with a national non-profit for coffees with a cause.

Mamas for Mamas founder Shannon Christensen said they have been working with Tug 6 and its parent company Oughtred Coffee and Tea for months to develop and launch coffee blends that will be meaningful for the non-profit.

“It’s so much more than just a partner who approached Mamas and said, ‘Hey, let’s make a coffee together.’ It was all about how we can both make something we’re passionate about that can help moms,” she said.

Christensen said each blend is meaningful to the organization, with each blend’s profits going directly to a Mamas for Mamas program stream.

“We have an espresso blend because we want to represent the BIPOC mamas that we serve who are amazing. We call it the Empowerment Espresso because it’s for beautiful mamas of colour who are doing so much.

“We have the Community Medium Roast, that’s for an everyday mama juggling all the things: soccer ball, the kids, the dog. We have the Grassroots Dark Roast, and the funds from that will all go towards our Indigenous support programs at Mamas for Mamas,” she said.

Each coffee retails $20 a pound, with $3.50 going to Mamas for Mamas. Christensen said local moms looking for a part-time job can also help sell the coffee and get $2 directly for each pound they sell.

Christensen said Oughtred Coffee and Tea partner John Oughtred was named as an “Honourary Mama” in 2019 by the non-profit, given the work he has done for and with Mamas for Mamas.

She said he has always been a big brother to the organization, helping them in many ways, and this was another way he wanted to help and give back to the community.

“At a time when they’re also struggling, they chose to help us. They’re a family company helping an organization that helps families,” she said.

For his part, Oughtred said he wanted to keep giving back to the community as much as possible while also encouraging others to do the same.

“We wanted to create this opportunity to collaborate because we wanted to make something that we can make available to as many people as possible,” he said.

“This is really just a way for people to keep on supporting Mamas for Mamas without making a change in their lifestyle, perhaps just changing the coffee they drink. It’s an easy win-win for everyone.”

The Mamas for Mamas blends are also available at Mill Creek Coffee, a coffee wholesaler providing service to offices, making it easier for businesses to support.

Check out the three blends at Craft Coffee Canada’s website.

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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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