Stirring Things Up

Mary Moore holds up an offering of fresh-brewed gourmet coffee at Java River in downtown Montevideo, Minnesota. Along with husband Patrick, the Moore’s aim to do far more than introduce the heartland to the luxury of gourmet coffee. The coffeehouse also features a computer kiosk, linking customers directly to sustainable farms and their produce. With a touch of their fingers, patrons have immediate access to a collection of sustainable farms in the Montevideo area willing to sell their produce directly to consumers.

The Java River coffeehouse the Moore’s opened in 1998 brings the luxury of gourmet brewed coffee to a heartland more familiar with stuff that tastes like it dripped out of the crankcase. “Thank you so much for opening a coffeehouse,” local customers repeat mantra-like after their first visits, said Mary. “Ah, civilization,” one Washington state visitor told the Moore’s after discovering their coffeehouse by accident. She’d been spending the week visiting relatives in western Yellow Medicine County, and hadn’t been able to find a cup of coffee like the kind brewed by a fellow named Starbuck’s back home.

Linking Customer and Producer

But it’s not at Starbuck’s that the Moore’s are aiming their sights. Their real goal is to lead the change in the way America buys its agricultural products, and ultimately, produces them. The Moore’s are convinced that Americans care not only about the quality of the food they buy, but the manner in which it is produced. Given the choice, they say, Americans will buy goods from farms using sustainable agricultural practices. They produce food in ways that are beneficial to the environment, and to the Main Streets of the small towns they call home, explained Patrick. His role is to link customer and producer together.

“Social marketing,” is what the Moores call this approach to linking customer and producer. They are not alone. A couple of fellows by the names of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield brought the same philosophy to the business of selling ice cream. They set out to make money by marketing their values, said Patrick. The Moore’s aim to do the same. They also know better than to confuse good intentions with business realities. Reality No. 1 is to know the market. Marketing surveys show that 25 percent of Americans want to buy sustainable farm produce, according to Patrick. Only 2 to 3 percent of them are able to do so, he said.

Creating a Market

Of course, it will take more than a kiosk in a coffeehouse to reach that untapped market. Computer users can access the same site by calling up prairiefare.com on the World Wide Web, and do their shopping at home. Farmers featured on the site have already heard from a variety of interested people, according to Audrey Arner. Her hope is that the interest will manifest itself as an improved market for the produce of sustainable farms. If the market is there, more farmers will adopt sustainable agricultural practices, she said.

It’s the kind of change both Arner and Patrick Moore want to see. They are organizers for the Land Stewardship Project, which helped launch this venture. The Land Stewardship Project helped bring the farmers together, and provided the equipment for developing the kiosk and web site. The Moore’s invested their own funds and sweat equity into developing their coffeehouse in an empty, downtown store front. They are taking all of the financial risk of operating their own business. “It’s a crap shoot,” admits Patrick. He’s an optimistic player, and for good reason. Along with a steady stream of local customers, Java River is attracting many visitors to Montevideo to its counter. “You’d be surprised,” said Mary, laughingly adding: “I’m afraid it’s kind of a tourist place.”