Chocolate tasting event offers a delicious way to teach about the benefits of fair trade

What better way to deliver a message than through chocolate, just before Valentine’s Day?

On Sunday, February 12, the St. Joseph Parish Social Justice & Peace Commission will hold a chocolate tasting event featuring Equal Exchange Fairly Traded chocolate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Fryeburg.

Parishioners and visitors will have a chance to sample different types of chocolate and will hear a presentation from Elisa Blanchard from Equal Exchange about how fair-trade practices benefit farmers in Latin America.

“In view of the Corporal Works of Mercy, ‘feed the hungry,’ we wanted to support the small-scale farmer, so that they can sustain their livelihood and families. And by supporting them, we are also contributing to a more equitable food system. We thought our chocolate event would be a delicious way to introduce the Equal Exchange/Fair Trade concepts to our parishioners who are already enjoying the Equal Exchange coffee throughout our parish,” says Kathleen Stevens, a member of the Social Justice & Peace Commission.

The chocolate tasting event will be held following the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, which is located at 857 Main Street in Fryeburg.