THE GOOD PLACE
Coffee with a Cause
For the past nine years, Kingdom Coffee has been helping people dealing with substance-use issues change their lives..
By Lailani Mendoza-Lai
Kingdom Coffee has outgrown its original 100-square-foot (30-square-metre) shop, prompting their recent move to a larger property in Northeast Calgary. | PHOTO: COURTESY OF KINGDOM COFFEE
EVERY SATURDAY, Jesse and Steph Singleton pack two vans with the help of a volunteer crew and head out to downtown Calgary. With carafes of freshly brewed coffee, hotdogs, buns and condiments in tow, they comb the streets in search of the unhoused, offering free coffee, food and company.
“We were giving away so much coffee we couldn’t afford it [anymore],” recalls Jesse of their humble beginnings. “[So] we bought a little coffee roaster and started roasting and selling coffee so we could give it away [to those in need].”
This initiative began as a tribute to Jesse’s father, Jim, who was unhoused and battling substance-use issues when four strangers befriended him over coffee, which led him to turn his life around. When Jim passed away in 2015 from a workplace accident, this sparked an idea for the Singletons.
In 2017 Kingdom Coffee was born. Now eight years later, four of the Singletons’ five kids (the youngest is seven) help out in the family-run roastery and café. Their eldest son is the official roaster and the younger ones help bag and label the beans. A portion of Kingdom Coffee’s revenue goes towards helping individuals get into rehabilitation programs and cover the costs involved in receiving treatment. According to Jesse, when a person decides to get clean, the team helps that individual get admitted through their professional connections at organizations like Fresh Start, Teen Challenge and the Calgary Dream Centre.
In 2022, the Singletons expanded their endeavours to include a food bank in their commercial space when their grocery store partners began donating reclaimed food.
“At first,” Jesse recalls, “we were just giving [food] away on Facebook to families in need.”
“What motivates us and our family is changing people’s lives.”
In November 2023, Kingdom Coffee moved to a larger location, which allowed the business to coexist with their growing food bank operations. The venue includes space for volunteers to assemble and distribute hampers, each containing shelf-stable items to feed a family of four. The Singletons give away an average of 1,800 hampers a month and serve over 200 families per week.
The food bank venture is a full-circle moment for Jesse. “I grew up with not much in my life. My mom depended on the food bank when my dad was in and out of jail.” The two initiatives are now housed under one roof, which provides him with a wonderful sense of fulfilment. “At the end of the day, do you want to be known as someone who shared what they had and gave what they had? What motivates us and our family is changing people’s lives.” AMA
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