LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Customers at the Northern store's gas bar in Fort Simpson have the chance to pay-it-forward to community members who may be less fortunate.

Pat Waugh, right, started a reserved coffee program that works by prepaying for someone else's beverage at the Fort Simpson Northern store with the help of store manager John Dempsey, left. Cashiers like Betty Ann Neyelle help run the program that will include bottled water, sandwiches and coffee during the summer months. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

In February, Pat Waugh approached John Dempsey, the store's local manager, about starting a reserved coffee program. The idea came from an article that Waugh had read online.

Reserved coffee programs, sometimes called suspended coffee, allow a customer to pay for a coffee and have it given to someone else.

Waugh and Dempsey modified the idea so in the winter months people could specify if they wanted to pay for a coffee or a bowl of soup or chili and have that donation given to someone in need.

Waugh said she thought the concept would work in Fort Simpson because there are a number of people who consistently hang around outside the Northern asking for money.

Everyone knows someone in that situation and reserved coffee or soup is a way to make sure they have something to eat even if you don't feel comfortable giving them money, she said.

"This way at least I know it's going somewhere healthy," she said.

"It's getting used all the time."

The staff at the store have been great about telling people who would benefit from the program about it, she said.

To support the program, Waugh goes in on her pay days and gives a lump sum specifying if it should be for coffee or soup.

Every time she checks, the money has always been used.

Dempsey also contributes to the program.

Waugh would like to see more people donate to the program, which will continue to run through the summer with the soup option replaced with a sandwich or a bottle of water, though coffee is still an option.

"Everybody could make a big difference with a little donation," said Waugh.

"It's time to do something."

She estimates there are 20 local people who would consistently access the program if reserved food or coffee was available.

"It's a nice thing," said Dempsey.

"It's providing for people who maybe don't have anything."

The program is simple to run. When a customer makes a donation, the item is recorded on a piece of paper. As people request the coffee or soup – and now water or a sandwich – the reserved items are crossed off until there are none left or someone makes another donation.

The program seems to be having an impact, said Dempsey.

He has noticed the number of people asking for money for coffee outside of the store has been minimized.

"We're at least providing the option for the people who need it," he said.

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