Mission of Service for Gary Heine

Action in the World:

Gary is a founding member of Cooperative Coffees, an organization owned and managed collectively by a small group of specialty coffee roasters located in the U.S. and Canada. The members are committed to supporting and partnering with small-scale, fair trade coffee farmers and their exporting cooperatives around the world. This group ensures that poor coffee farmers get a decent income for their coffee which in turn allows them to feed and clothe their families, live healthier lives, and ultimately provide greater sustainability to farming communities.

Gary also started the Louisville Sustainability Forum which has developed into a communications resource for individuals, non-profits and for-profit businesses interested in sustainability. Businesses and community organizations and interested individuals meet monthly to partner and learn about, profit from, and adopt green and local business solutions.

He also started Breaking New Grounds, a 501C(3), which is a sustainable system to transform a plentiful waste product (70 tons of coffee grounds and other local food waste) into a healthy, living soil, create neighborhood gardens, nutritious food, sustainable jobs and teach young people how this simple process can give birth to amazing possibilities. Breaking New Grounds is developing local farmers and other partners across the city of Louisville to create a neighborhood-based community food system that will grow food, grow farmers, and grow jobs. Among other things it provides healthy food to neighbors and local not-profits, including several Kid's Cafes that serve breakfast and dinner to hungry children. His latest idea is 15 Thousand Farmers. It's a plan to help 15,000 people in the Louisville area to create garden plots to grow their own food.