2024 Bloom Fund Recipient

Dos Gatos Coffee Bar in Johnson City, TN, was awarded a Bloom grant for the construction of a customer-facing self-service stand that includes trash, compost, recycling, and a water tap. This multifaceted project focuses on three sustainability initiatives: a community free water tap, customer access to composting and recycling, and reduction of single-use product waste. The addition of this stand allows Dos Gatos to provide access to clean filtered, drinking water to the entire downtown Johnson City community, and diverts waste from landfills by extending composting and recycling capabilities to customers.

The community of northeastern Tennessee has seen unprecedented increases in both unsheltered and unhoused community members in the past two years, increasing at a rate of ten times and three times the national average, respectively. Offering all members of the community access to clean, filtered drinking water is a small step in addressing the escalating issue of homelessness within the area. Dos Gatos will provide this access to all members of the community regardless of a person’s ability to be a paying customer.

This stand will also decrease single-use product waste by giving customers a choice of whether they would like a lid, sleeve, or straw. The goal of this project is to simplify the composting process for customers and reduce our overall landfill waste.

Bloom Fund

Counter Culture Coffee collects $0.01 from every pound of coffee sold to fund our Bloom program. Annually, $1 per pound of our spring coffee blend, Perennial, goes to further increase our contribution. Bloom provides grants to support sustainability initiatives at Counter Culture Coffee partner cafes. Rooted in the belief that everyone’s path toward sustainability looks a little different, this program supports projects of all shapes and sizes our partners identify as impactful.