Interview With Jason Scherr
On Monday, February 7, we took a trip to a Think Coffee near our school. Think Coffee is an NYC based coffee shop with multiple locations. They support many causes and certain ones that our group takes particular interest in. First, they personally inspect all of their coffee sources to ensure that the workers have housing. If the farm owner refused to provide that for the workers, then they don’t buy. Everything bought at Think Coffee contributes to one of their many projects, making a Social Impact.
We chose to interview Jason Scherr, the founder of Think Coffee, to hear more about his morals and why he personally decided to construct a business like this.
One thing he mentioned was the importance of human connection, from the coffee shop to the farms producing it. This is why these projects are started — to better the lives of everyone involved. The customers don’t know it, but they are supporting those causes through this business. Although Jason hasn’t run into any forced labor where he or his colleagues have traveled, he understands that the workers he sees may have no home. I think it’s admirable how the company doesn’t lazily rely on these certifications, but rather verify things themselves. It’s a rarity that we see a business not so focused on only turning a profit.
Still, most customers don’t know.