Human trafficking is a global issue which often seems too large to tackle. But one cafe is making a difference “one cup at a time.” Opened in 2013 as a student organization at the University of NH and now an independent nonprofit located on Main Street in Durham, The Freedom Cafe raises awareness about forced labor and its connection to environmental issues through food and live music.
“Areas of social unrest, areas where climate change is impacting communities disproportionately, those are areas where human traffickers are recruiting for slavery,” says Bryan Bessette, co-founder and president.
The inspiration for The Freedom Cafe began during a trip Bessette and his team of fellow students took to Nepal to aid survivors of human trafficking. While preparing for this journey, his team took an unconventional approach to fundraising.
They traveled to every bar in Durham asking people to donate the equivalent of a bottle of beer towards their cause.
From college students willing to invest… to successful business folk, Bessette realized many cared about the issue, but no one knew what to do about it. That led to forming the Freedom Cafe and a local answer to a global problem. “It was one of those moments where you begin to put an idea out there and people are like, ‘Yes!’” he says.
The cafe created a non-exploitative menu and operates on a name-your-price donation system. All menu items are listed at a recommended price based on fair market value, with 100% of proceeds going toward its mission. “When people know that their money is going toward a good cause, they are more likely to spend that money,” Bessette says.
Of the 5,894 transactions made in 2021, 562 were above the recommended price while 89 chose to pay less. These extra donations have resulted in raising an additional $2,260. Overall, the cafe’s revenue is steadily increasing. The Freedom Cafe generated $54,000 in 2019. Like many businesses and nonprofits, it faced setbacks in 2020 and revenue dropped to $40,000. The cafe has since recovered and is set to surpass its pre-pandemic revenue. The Freedom Cafe supports the efforts of several human rights organizations and those that support the victims of human trafficking.
Bessette credits the renewed success, in part, to a change in location last year to downtown Durham. Since the move, business has more than doubled from an average of 20 daily transactions to around 50. “We are able to invest in the community because the community is willing to invest in us.”
For more information, visit thefreedomcafe.org.
Written by Ashley White, a student at University of NH-Manchester and a participant in the Young Reporters Project, a joint venture of Business NH Magazine and UNH-Manchester to introduce students to business writing.
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