Acadia’s Sustainability Office and the Acadia Students’ Union made the announcement with president Dr. Peter Ricketts, and Grace Hamilton-Burge, who is president of the Acadia Students’ Union.
Ricketts announced an annual Fair Trade Campus Week for the campus.
He called the designation close to Acadia’s heartfelt values and a commitment to sustainability and the good of all human kind.
Ricketts said this week shows that students are actively engaged in helping to make a better world.
Hamilton-Burge told those who gathered for the event that the first interest in Fair Trade was evident on campus in 2003.
Learning about right and wrong, she said her fellow students “are ready to champion this.”
The campus Fair Trade committee held a tasting at the Just Us! Coffee roastery in Grand this summer and picked a campus coffee blend called Hacha Java.
A fourth-year student, Quentin Horvath, selected the winning name, which features the Spanish word for axe. Acadia sports teams use the same name.
The official announcement that celebrated the partnership with the Canadian Fair Trade Network, Fairtrade Canada, and the Association Quebecoise du commerce Equitable took place in the Students Union Building.
Wolfville Mayor Jeff Cantwell noted that under former mayor Bob Stead the town became the first Fair Trade town in Canada in 2007.
Making a commitment
The Fair Trade Campus program recognizes colleges and universities demonstrating a strong commitment to Fair Trade. Fair trade is an alternative approach to business, based on partnerships between producers and consumers. It ensures farmers receive a minimum price, improved terms, and a social premium that helps improve their lives and enables them to plan for their future.
To earn the first in the Maritimes campus designation, Acadia met a variety of requirements for the national program such as:
• All coffee, three teas, and one chocolate Fair Trade certified product must be provided in all food service locations.
• Develop an education program to raise awareness about Fair Trade.
• Establish a Fair Trade Committee with staff, students and faculty.
• Expand product line available such as fruit and sugar.
http://fairtrade.ca/
