This week Fire Fighters in Phoenix and Houston, the homeless in Denver and the men and women of the Texas National Guard and their families through the Fort Worth Naval Air Station will begin receiving coffee donated by Christopher Bean Gourmet Coffee Company. Over 10,000, 12 oz. bags of coffee were in 4 Safeway grocery warehouses across the country for the introduction of Christopher Bean Coffee in Safeway, Tom Thumb and Randall’s grocery stores.
The roll out of the new gourmet coffee line was delayed from spring until summer but the coffee had already been shipped. Company President Chris Brown said “We have built a loyal customer base across the country by offering only premium coffee blends and flavored coffee that is top quality because of the fresh roasting. We did not want to offer anything less to Safeway, Tom Thumb or Randall’s customers, so rather than letting the coffee sit in the warehouse for 6 weeks I asked Safeway corporate to allow us to replace it with fresh coffee for the July roll out and to let us donate the earlier shipments to the members of military, public servants, and food banks.”
Christopher Bean Coffee Company worked with Jay Evans of the Air Force Reserve Command Family Readiness Program in Fort Worth and Thomas Cullum, at the Tom Thumb Distribution Center to coordinate the donation to the Fort Worth NAS. Christopher Bean’s Director of Sales and Marketing Mark Geallis said “We have an ongoing program of supporting the troops through our neighboring Georgia National Guard Reserve units in Savannah. They tell us that coffee is vital to their success and that quality coffee is rarely available in Iraq or Afghanistan. When we were faced with the problem at the Texas warehouse I saw it as a positive opportunity to help out the Texas Guard units and their families.”
In the other Safeway divisions, donations to the military were not feasible so in Denver Safeway coordinated the donation through the local food bank. Christopher Bean Coffee Company worked directly with the public affairs office of the Houston FD and with the resources management division of the Phoenix FD and the local Firefighters union to arrange for them to pick up the coffee at the warehouses. Geallis said “We often donate to fire departments near our Daytona Beach, Florida headquarters, so it only made sense to do the same in Phoenix and Houston. We know that because firefighters need to stay alert for long shifts that they are natural coffee lovers and they are among the many underappreciated public servants, so we wanted to reward them with some special premium coffee. This is one of those times in life where a problem turns into a blessing, a real Win, Win, Win for everyone.”
About The Christopher Bean Coffee Company
The Christopher Bean Coffee Company was founded in 1996 and prides itself on selecting the highest quality, hand picked Arabica coffee beans from the world’s main coffee growing regions, including Central and South America, East Africa, Indonesia, Jamaica and The Pacific Rim. Each variety is roasted in small batches to maximize flavor. After roasting, the coffee is immediately packaged to ensure guaranteed freshness.
All of their premium coffee is made to order, not pulled from stock, so whether the coffee has been purchased at supermarkets, enjoyed at restaurants or ordered on line, it will be the freshest gourmet coffee possible. Christopher Bean Coffee Company is located in Daytona Beach, Florida and distributes 12 varieties at over 3,500 Grocery stores in 31 states. Online they feature over 70 blends, single origin and unique flavored coffee varieties at www.christopherbean.com
