The backs have been slapped in congratulations, the hugs of accomplishment exchanged, the coffee mugs rinsed, the crafts packed up, and the soup refrigerated for another day. Such is the satisfying aftermath of a World Fair Trade Day event.

Yesterday I was fortunate to be with the good folks at San Diego Friends of Fair Trade. They are a rather young (meaning the coalition has been around for about a couple of years) group of volunteers who want to build awareness of Fair Trade in the San Diego community. Whether volunteers from Christ Lutheran Church, small business owners from Karma Mart, or students from US San Diego, the group is united by genuine concern for marginalized producers overseas and how their local community can reach out to “make the world a better place” as coalition president Carolyn Lief said. Reach out they did!

Hosted by Cafe Moto, a family run coffee business that is committed to continuous improvement in its volume of Fair Trade coffee purchases, the coalition packed a bunch of great activities into a beautiful sunny California morning. There were presentations (from yours truly and representatives of the coalition), a coffee supply chain skit performed by students from the University of San Diego and, of course, our effort at being involved in the World’s Largest Fair Trade coffee break.

As somebody who has been organizing World Fair Trade Day events for about six years now, it was inspiring to see how this energized band of volunteers created a unique celebration of Fair Trade values. It was a perfect mix of uplifting Fair Trade principles for our brothers and sisters overseas while working to promote economic justice locally.

After we raised our mugs in solidarity with coffee farmers and sampled Fair Trade chocolate with origins in Ghana and Peru we enjoyed soup from The Tomorrow Project of Catholic Charities. The project collaborates with well-known San Diego chefs to develop recipes for gourmet soups that are then created by homeless women learning culinary and workplace skills.

Usually I say it is an honor to be invited to speak at these events, and it sure was! But it was also a real pleasure to hang out with a hundred or so citizens of San Diego who so sincerely want to live out the theme of the day: transforming lives through Fair Trade.