At 7 a.m. on April 18, Homegrown Coffey began distributing hot and cold coffee drinks to students, faculty and staff at Emporia State from its mobile trailer. As a special treat, the first 100 beverages served to patrons who showed their Hornet ID were free of charge. Stationed at Kellogg Circle in front of Plumb Hall, people began lining up soon after the trailer started selling.
Homegrown co-owner Hatti Wright said that the Coffey County-based company worked with Shelby Clark, the director of ESU’s BizHornet Center, to bring the trailer to campus. According to Wright, Clark worked on behalf of all campus governance, including faculty, staff and student government, to make the event happen.
Wright considers the event a success, having distributed a total of 192 drinks to ESU students and faculty over the course of five hours.
“I feel that the event went great, and I hope everyone who came feels the same way,” said Wright. “We had a line pretty much the whole time we were set up, whether it was the students and faculty or others in the community.”
Homegrown’s owners are no strangers to campus. Sisters Hatti Wright and Catherine Griffin are both ESU alumni. Wright is a graduate of ESU’s nursing program and Griffin holds a degree from the School of Business. Discussing her company’s connection to campus, Wright said “We are always happy to serve our Hornets!”
Some students on campus consider this a much-needed break from the stresses of upcoming finals.
Sophomore communication major Abby Audis said, “I think that this is so great. It’s been a fun experience, and a good-pick-me up, and the workers were super nice.”
“I think this is a great pick-me-up for the end of the semester, because finals are coming up, and this is usually a stressful time,” said sophomore elementary education major Greta Crawford. “So I’m really thankful that they put this on for us, and I love free coffee.”
Homegrown followed up their initial visit to campus with a spot at the Coffee & Careers event on April 23. They will sell to the School of Nursing on May 2 before finals week.
