While many of us may be longing for the cooler temperatures of winter to escape the August heat, many in the Birmingham homeless community dread those frigid nights. However, Royal Cup Coffee hopes to ensure that the homeless can get a hot and nutritious meal at Boutwell Auditorium.
Every year at Birmingham’s Sloss Fest Music and Arts Festival, Royal Cup steals the show with its Cold Brew Cool-Off Zone. This year, according to Alabama News Center, the coffee company donated all $3,000 of its proceeds to a local charity that provides food to warming stations at Boutwell Auditorium. Heart to Table began when Silvertron Café owner Marco Morosini sought to find a solution to a problem Birmingham faced every winter. Boutwell Auditorium opens as a warming station on freezing nights for the homeless to seek shelter, however the city often has no money to provide them with food. Heart to Table began a community of restaurants that regularly provide food for the city’s warming stations.
According to the Director of Birmingham’s Office of Citizens Assistance, Don Lupo, Royal Cup’s donation will provide a meal for about 10 nights of people seeking shelter, or around 3,000 people. “That’s amazing,” Lupo said, “Royal Cup has this big, generous heart. They have always supported the community. We’re just thankful we’re on their list.”
Royal Cup has donated the funds from its Sloss Fest booth to local charities for three years now. C.J. Britton, director of Creative Services at Royal Cup Coffee in Birmingham told Alabama News Center:
“We may be a national company, but we have a passion for helping those in our backyard who need it most. With the recent revitalization downtown, it’s easy to forget people are going hungry. This is an easy, practical way we can help Heart to Table take care of those who don’t have the resources to take care of themselves.”
Lupo expressed his gratitude towards Royal Cup for their help in feeding Birmingham’s homeless community. “With this donation of $3,000, we know cold nights are taken care of this winter. No worries. No begging.”
