WAWA, Pa., April 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wawa is proud to announce that as of the end of March, 100% of the espresso products served in all of its stores are now using Rainforest Alliance Certified beans. The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization working to develop and promote farming standards that protect the environment and promote the well-being of workers, their families and their communities. These standards help to ensure farm workers have safe working conditions, housing, and access to medical care and schools for their children. Through achieving Rainforest Alliance certification, farms work to protect ecosystems, including wildlife habitat, water and soil.
“Teaming up with the Rainforest Alliance furthers our progress towards our sustainability goals and is an important partnership for Wawa,” said Mike Sherlock, VP of Fresh Food & Beverage. “It allows us to deepen our commitment to our values by valuing people and doing the right thing for all communities.”
Wawa serves hot, iced and frozen espresso products as part of its built-to-order Specialty Beverage offer. Wawa is committed to partnering only with roasters who source quality coffee and participate in practices that support responsible environmental and social standards in coffee-growing regions. In addition to espresso, by the end of 2018, all of Wawa’s Cold Brew coffee will be 100% Rain Forest Alliance Certified. Wawa will additionally strive to have all of our coffee varieties sustainably sourced by the end of 2020. To learn more about Wawa’s quality food commitment, visit: https://www.wawa.com/fresh-food/nutrition. To learn more about The Rainforest Alliance, visit: www.rainforest-alliance.org.
About Wawa’s Quality Food Commitment
As part of Wawa’s ongoing commitment to provide safe, fresh, high quality foods, the company has established a fully integrated food and product quality program, and is improving and formalizing the programs, standards, and audit criteria for the vendors who supply the food products we serve. The program builds upon Wawa’s founding commitment to family safety and trust, dating back more than 100 years ago, when the Wawa Family Dairy was the first to offer “physician certified” milk.
To guide this journey, Wawa has established an independent advisory council of top experts and thought leaders in food and animal safety, food technology and health and wellness. Wawa’s food safety program includes a focus on animal welfare that requires suppliers to meet key standards of ethical and responsible food sourcing.
About the Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization working to build a future in which nature is protected and biodiversity flourishes, where farmers, workers, and communities prosper, and where sustainable land use and responsible business practices are the norm. We envision a world where people and nature thrive in harmony. In January 2018, the Rainforest Alliance merged with UTZ, a global program and label for sustainable farming. Our head offices are in Amsterdam and New York, with regional offices around the world.
“Companies like Wawa are setting an example for others,” said Laura Donnelly, Senior Associate of Markets Transformation at the Rainforest Alliance. “It’s clear Wawa shares our belief that everyday actions can add up to a big impact—and they are making it easy for consumers to make positive, everyday decisions that together can make a big difference.”