32 Lakes GiveBack #1

We can’t quite believe the time has come to write about our first 32 Lakes GiveBack… and yet, here we are! 

This program has been a year in the making. From the launch of 32 Lakes Coffee Roasters, we’ve had a goal to use the company for good. We wanted an opportunity to spend our days doing work that inspired us, so kicking off this GiveBack fills our hearts.

 Until the launch of the Giveback Program, we helped social and environmental causes mainly through donations of coffee, by volunteering our time for public garbage cleanups, and brewing coffee for local events. This was not often tracked well in our reporting, and was often forgotten before we shared with the public via social media. To move forward in the best way, we thought it would be ideal to budget for donations, hold ourselves accountable to yearly giveback goals, and provide transparency about our achievements.

With the decision to begin budgeting for a GiveBack program, we brainstormed what the program would look like. We knew we wanted the GiveBack Program to help people in need. Locally produced food stood out to us as a perfect option. What better than supporting local farmers to feed those in need with nutritious food - local produce for locals - that is right up our alley! 

The decision to make soups came about as we considered that not everyone has access to the same cooking equipment and facilities. We also know making a home cooked meal can be a big commitment, we wanted this to be delicious and easy to prepare.

With the concept down, we designed our new bags with information to market the program. We began tracking sales of the new bags in December of 2021. Every 340g bag from our Signature Line of Coffee sees one percent donated to our GiveBack Program. Every four months we use this money to buy ingredients (local whenever possible), and use the ingredients to make and freeze soup in a local commercial kitchen.

For the first donation, we were inspired to target Seniors/Elders, who have been challenged by the pandemic, although we also want to acknowledge all who have struggled during this time. On a personal note, I have a 92 year old grandfather who lives on his own. Having watched his recent struggle with isolation, the topic is close to my heart, and decided to make this our target population for the first GiveBack.

We raised $340.50 for our first donation, which ran from January to the end of April (also the additional couple of weeks in December). For the recent Giveback, Pat at Andtabaka Farm (qathet region - between Powell River and Lund) provided a generous amount of chicken, celery, and herbs for our Chicken and Vegetable soup. For $140 we were able to make our own stock with her ingredients, plus have meat, herbs and celery needed for the soup ingredients! We had reached out to local farmers seeking out root vegetables, though they are not currently in season. Instead, we focused on Canadian vegetables available at our local grocer, which ran us $100.03. Soup containers and lids cost $49.05 from Aaron Vending. Finally, we purchased sticker labels from CMG printing to provide the soup ingredients. These labels totalled $11.21. Our total spending for this GiveBack was $289.53, leaving $50.97 to be carried over for the next Giveback. 

In total, we were able to make and donate 77 one litre containers of soups! With the help of two wonderful local women and my daughter, we made these soups with love and distributed them between The Gerry Gray Place and Tla’amin Health. I feel so lucky that I can call this work, and I am grateful to our customers who make this program possible through their support. 

Thank you for taking the time to read about our Giveback program, we are humbled you have shared your time with us. 

Kind regards, 

Margot Jantz

Owner/Director of Operations

32 Lakes Coffee Roasters

*Going forward this program will tally our GiveBack budget at the end of April, August and December with the goal of making the soup in the month that follows. If you have any questions about the program please don’t hesitate to reach out!