Posts by Social Justice Team

We’re proud to source our pecans from Cypress Pond, a for-profit farm affiliated with a network of civil rights and community organizations working in southwest Georgia since the 1960s. These pecans are grown on land once owned by the largest slave owner in Georgia, now owned by descendants of slaves. New Communities was founded in 1969 as a farm collective to provide a safe haven for black farmers, and became one of the original models for community land trusts in the United…

Dear Friends, Many of you have served the Elgin PADS shelter during 2023 and before. Unfortunately, you often don’t get to see the results of our service and how people get back on their feet and move to their own place.   I thought you would like to read part of a letter from Angie DeLeon, the PADS Volunteer Coordinator: “Happy Friday to you all! We had a great time volunteering at the Nightmare on Chicago Street last Saturday night.…

Michele Ramsey’s sermon on Nov. 5 pointed out the importance of and need for food.  Here’s a simple way to make a difference in our community. UUCE supports Elgin’s All Peoples Interfaith Food Pantry, and we have for decades, but lately their large wicker basket in our entryway has had little in it.  Cereal of any kind is their biggest request, but tuna and any kind of canned food is also needed.  Can we make an ongoing effort to fill their basket? …

All Peoples Interfaith Food Pantry which UUCE has supported for several decades, is located in the First Congregational Church in downtown Elgin. There is a large wicker hamper in UUCE’s entryway for your donations. Needed items currently are canned fruit, canned vegetables, soup, crackers, cereal, peanut butter and jelly and toilet tissue. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Norm Wilkinson

Reports estimate that there are more than 2 million child laborers in the cacao sectors of the Ivory Coast and Ghana alone, countries which produce over 70% of the world’s cacao. The root cause of this problem is poverty. Farm families make roughly $2/day which is not enough to sustain them. The Equal Exchange alternative trade system is a different model that helps small farmers continue to produce cacao crops so that they can provide for their families. Equal Exchange, our fair-trade…

Dear Friends, Thank you to those who provide and serve lunches to the Elgin PADS shelter.  A new signup is available for the first and third Mondays of December, January and February. You may sign up on our website: uuce.org, Help the Community, PADS. or https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054AABA82CA4FC1-45245678-pads#/

Please separate packaging foam from CLEAN food grade foam and BAG them. Styrofoam peanuts are NOT accepted.  Place your bags of separated Styrofoam in the Prius with a sign parked near the front door of the church. Thanks for recycling your Styrofoam.  Please try to avoid using Styrofoam.  It is an environmental disaster that takes hundreds of years to decompose, if not longer.  All for a quick cup of coffee, or a take out meal. Mary Alice and Joe Masonick

Do you know where your chocolate comes from?  It is probably produced by West African child labor. Over a million children are forced to work in chocolate production. Some are taken from their home, and many cannot attend school. The major chocolate companies like Hershey, Mars and Nestlé are aware of this problem but have not ended forced child labor in the production of chocolate. “U.S. Report: Much of the World’s Chocolate Supply Relies on More Than 1 Million Child Workers.” The…

The chocolate industry has become increasingly consolidated by a few multinational corporations while child labor remains a terrible problem in the industry (link to short video below). Equal Exchange proudly sources organic cacao and sugar from small farmers in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Togo and Paraguay, and has built an alternative model that works for farmers, consumers and the planet we all share. This model helps farmers be owners of their businesses, have economic control over their lives, as well as access…

We begin ordering chocolate again in October when temperatures are cool enough to avoid using the insulated packaging required to keep chocolate from melting. All our chocolate products are organic and fairly traded. They come from small farms.  Check out this photo of a chocolate plant! Our products are inexpensive because we buy them wholesale and don’t pay tax or shipping. We pass on the savings to you. Pay with cash or check made out to UUCE with “Equal Exchange”…

Check out the Fair Trade table in Fellowship Hall for some new coffee varieties. Per member request, we now offer Whole Bean (WB) French Roast, WB Ethiopian, and WB Colombian. All the coffee options from Equal Exchange are available in drip grind and whole bean.  Feel free to request something or to see the complete list of coffee, tea, chocolate and fair trade foods that are available. I’m happy to order products from Equal Exchange. Stay tuned for October’s Chocolate Choices! Mary…