Bi-Lo Markets in South and North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia Now Offer The Rogers Family Co.'s 'Fairly Traded' Gourmet Coffee Under the Organic Coffee Co. and San Francisco Bay Brands

Purchases of Organic Coffee Company and San Francisco Bay gourmet coffees at Bi-Lo improve quality of life for workers, protect nature at coffee farm communities from Mexico to Central America to Rwanda

LINCOLN, Calif. and MAULDIN, SC –  January 26, 2011 – Bi-Lo supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia now offer The Rogers Family Company’s (www.rogersfamilyco.com) flagship Fairly Traded gourmet coffee brands, which help protect native rainforest, wildlife and improve the quality of life for farmers, workers and their families from Central America to Rwanda.

The 207 Bi-Lo stores in these states carry 12-ounce pre-ground bags of the San Francisco Bay and Organic Coffee Company (OCC) gourmet coffee lines, which are among the divisions/brands of the Lincoln, Calif.-based Rogers Family Company.  One of the nation’s largest family-owned gourmet coffee roasters, The Rogers Family Company produces Responsibly Grown/Fairly Traded premium, whole bean and pre-ground gourmet coffee and tea products available in wholesale, retail outlets and online worldwide.

The blends – from 100 percent Arabica beans and shade-grown under a canopy of rainforest and native trees – include Organic Coffee Company Breakfast Blend and Java Love as well as San Francisco Bay French Roast, Colombian Supremo and Hazelnut.  Other items in the Organic Coffee Co. and Black Mountain Gold coffee lines are also available in select Bi-Lo stores.

We thank Bi-Lo for the opportunity to provide our coffee to their discriminating customers, said Rogers Family Company President Jon B. Rogers.  Bi-Lo customers can help make a direct, permanent difference for the people who fill their cup and protect nature at coffee farms from Central America to Rwanda.

Purchases of Organic Coffee Co. and San Francisco Bay coffee support the company’s Coffee Community Aid program.

Community Aid establishes a fixed price for farmers based upon the farmer’s cost plus a reasonable return, pays them more than the average market price and exceeds other organizations’ standards.  Community Aid builds social, economic, and educational programs to break the cycle of poverty and ensure the long-term viability of coffee communities.  The program also preserves wildlife, rainforest and plants at farms in Mexico, Rwanda, Panama, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Honduras and Papua New Guinea.

Community Aid provides modern houses, medical facilities, schools and day care centers, doctors, nurses, teachers, food and clothing as well as clean drinking water.

The Rogers Family Co. spent some $1 million on Community Aid in 2010.

All four of the adult children of company founders Jon B. Rogers and Barbara Rogers play a vital role in its day to day operations.