Organic Coffee Increases Campus Presence

Colleges and universities are increasingly offering organic coffee products, reports the Organic Coffee Collaboration, a project of the Organic Trade Association. OCC cites Columbia University and New York University, which brew organic Dallis Coffee; Bennington College, Brown University, Indianapolis University and Yale University, which offer Equal Exchange; and Notre Dame University, Harvard Medical School, the University of Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts-Boston and the University of Vermont, which all offer Green Mountain Coffee Roasters organic coffees. In addition, Harvard University menus Fresh Harvest Product's Wings of Nature organic coffee snack bars.

"Many college students have grown up with organic foods. As they look for solutions to the economic and environmental problems facing the world, students are among the key drivers changing campus food toward organic products and more sustainable choices," says David Gagnon, OTA interim executive director. "Similarly, food service providers have their fingers on the pulse of customers' needs and know that organic food and beverages are here to stay."

The North American organic coffee market reached one billion dollars in 2007, according to Daniele Giovannucci, author of the recent North American Organic Coffee Industry Survey. The amount of organic coffee imported into the U.S. and Canada increased 29 percent from 2006-2007, from approximately 65 million pounds to approximately 81 million pounds.