what gives?

Small ways that you can make a big di erence for nonprofits

Say happy birthday … to the North Texas Food Bank. The food bank celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. The food bank’s website, ntfb.org, offers several ways for anyone to raise money for food to support the 48 million households estimated to be living with food insecurity in North Texas. The website allows users to hold virtual food drives and offers “Thirty ways to $30,” ideas for saving enough to donate the equivalent of 90 meals to the food bank.

Run 10k or 20k …

… in the Tour des Fleurs and support the Dallas Arboretum. Registration for this race, held entirely in the arboretum, costs $60 for the 10k and $65 for the 20k. A post-race party features a performance form Decades, food from local restaurants and massages. tourdesfleurs.org.

Buy a copy of “His Name is Bob” … and support neighborhood fixture Bob Crawford. The documentary about Crawford’s life recently was released on DVD and is available for $20 at hisnameisbob. com. The filmmakers are donating 20 percent of the film’s net profits to Crawford. You can also make donations directly to Crawford through the website.

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com.

Local coffee

Marta Sprague bought her husband, Kevin, a countertop coffee roaster about 10 years ago because of his growing interest in the craft of roasting coffee beans. Soon, every vacation they took together revolved around coffee, tasting it, meeting roasters and seeing coffee farms. As gifts to their wedding guests, they gave home-roasted coffee beans. “It became an obsession,” Kevin says. This passion for coffee and roasting beans has become a business venture for the couple, who live in the Hollywood/Santa Monica neighborhood. They started their business, Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters, about a year and a half ago, after the company they both worked for closed and they lost their jobs. Kevin used his life savings to open the business in a small manufacturing space off Garland Road. All of Noble Coyote’s coffee beans are certified organic or from farms that use fair-trade and shade-grown farming practices. “We’re very dedicated to fair and direct trade,” Marta says. “It’s important for us to strive to keep the moral and ethical high ground. There are a lot of people being taken advantage of.” Marta, who has a part-time job with an event-planning firm, runs the business side, and Kevin is the roaster. He keeps logs on every batch of beans he roasts, detailing airflow, temperature and other aspects of the process. “It’s not just putting cookies in an oven,” he says. “There is a lot more to it.” He taught himself to roast beans by reading about it, meeting other roasters and trial-and-error. He’s also a musician, and he considers roasting coffee beans just another means of creative expression. Sometimes, he loses track of time while working. “I can leave the house in a bad mood, and by the time I finish up here, I feel great,” he says. Noble Coyote offers limited delivery in the White Rock Lake area. Their products are available at Artizone, Jimmy’s Food Store, Sissy’s Southern Kitchen and Bryan Street Tavern, as well as White Rock Local Market, St. Michael’s Farmers Market and Dallas Eco-Op Pop-Up Market. Noble Coyote recenlty created a Café Momentum blend, with part of the proceeds going to that nonprofit.