"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

With Fair Trade Fortnight in full swing, we thought it was high time for us to take another trip to one of our favourite haunts, Vada Café. Situated on busy Nepean Highway in Frankston, Vada Café is a strong supporter of the Fairtrade movement.

When you learn the story behind Vada Café, their decision to use a Five Senses Fairtrade blend doesn’t come as any great surprise. In fact, Vada Café shares a few parallels with Five Senses.

The idea behind Vada Café was dreamed up by founding director, Rick Paynter, while he was undertaking mission work in Papua New Guinea. Having experienced first-hand the urban slums of PNG, Rick was keen to educate Australians about the thousands of Papua New Guineans who live in extreme poverty. It was Rick’s hope that educating people about the realities of life in PNG would encourage them to become advocates for change. Rick felt that a café would provide just the right setting to achieve this, and so Vada Café was born, with the mission “creating a great café experience in support of a great concern for the poor.”

Not only does Vada Café provide a great forum for what Rick calls “conversations of concern,” but all of the café’s profits are donated to the Gateway Children’s Fund. The Gateway Children’s Fund works with PNG communities to improve the rates of child survival, to ensure that children and young adults have access to education and to provide vital infrastructure.

The team at Vada Café cheerfully prepare their Fairtrade blend for a huge range of customers. The menu tempts many to add brekkie or lunch to their coffee order, with an array of salads, wraps, and more hearty selections that are made fresh on site by Vada Café’s chefs. They also offer a kid’s menu that’s sure to satisfy their pint-sized customers.

Get into the spirit of the Fair Trade Fortnight, and head down to Vada Café to support the guys who support Fairtrade.

Vada Café: 465 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199; Phone: (03) 9783 6423 Opening Hours: 7.00am – 4.00pm Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 4.00pm Saturday and Sunday (closed on Public Holidays)