A cup of joe, a measure of hope, new program brews opportunity at Modesto Gospel Mission (original) (raw)

Could a cup of coffee transform a life? Jason Conway of The Modesto Gospel Mission, thinks so.

“I started out 18 years ago as a 27-year-old homeless kid,” he said. “I walked onto this campus and entered the New Life Program and turned my life around.”

Now serving as the mission’s chief executive officer, Conway has created another opportunity for people in the New Life Program. It’s called Volente Coffee Roasters and is described on its website as “a social enterprise of the Modesto Gospel Mission.”

Volente teaches business and social skills, preparing participants for success after they’ve left the Gospel Mission.

“There are four people currently in the program,” said Gospel Mission Chief Operating Officer John Villines, “but we have had about 25 people go through this program since starting” in 2022.

“We wanted to do something different. We thought, why not coffee?” Conway said. “We wanted something that was a social enterprise, where they could learn a skill and learn to be out in the community, too.”

Beans are roasted at Volente Coffee Roasters on Friday, Jan. 10 in Modesto. Maria Figueroa mfigueroa@modbee.com

Volente began strictly as a coffee roasting business where participants learned to roast organic coffee beans, ethically sourced and sustainably produced, from Papua New Guinea and Honduras, among other places.

Volente produces four varieties: two light roasts, Magnifucus and Lumen, and two darker roasts, Nox and Absum, which is their decaf blend. Derived from Latin, the names reflect the coffee roast type, Lumen meaning light, Nox meaning night. Even Volente gets its name from the Latin phrase “Deo Volente,” meaning God willing.

Volente Coffee Roasters displays four varieties, called Lumen, Nox, Magnificus and Absum, in Modesto, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Maria Figueroa mfigueroa@modbee.com

“We started selling to local churches and businesses and found that there was an interest in barista services, so that came soon after,” Conway said.

He recognized a new opportunity and built out mobile carts equipped to serve coffee, lattes, espressos and more. Volente added to the program by teaching roasters how to be baristas, not only crafting coffee drinks but honing customer service skills.

One client is E.&J. Gallo Winery, where a coffee cart goes twice a week. “We have a few mobile carts that go out to events and businesses, but we have built a larger, more sturdy cart that we would like to find a more permanent home for,” Conway said.

Manager Isaiah Villines pours coffee beans into roasting machine at Volente Coffee Roasters in Modesto, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Maria Figueroa mfigueroa@modbee.com

In the roasting room, Volente manager Isaiah Villines demonstrates how the beans go from green to brown in a process of about 10 minutes. Roasting time varies on the type of coffee, and the beans go through a 24- to 72-hour cooling and curing period. All the beans are bagged and labeled in-house and sold in 12-ounce and 2-pound bags.

Conway said he would like to expand the enterprise through other businesses around town. Bookish, in Roseburg Square, and Bakeshop, on 11th Street downtown, are among Volente’s most popular outlets. Each has a custom blend sold exclusively at the business. All of the main varieties can be purchased online.

“The bigger vision is opening a cafe one day,” Conway said. “That way, we can onboard and offboard more men and women and expand the program.”

All profits from Volente — packaged in bags that read “Coffee with a mission” — go back into Modesto Gospel Mission operation.

To purchase Volente or to rent a mobile barista cart for an event, visit www.volentecoffee.com or call 209-602-0074.

Coffee bags with the motto,“Coffee with a mission” are ready for sale at Volente Coffee Roasters in Modesto, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Maria Figueroa mfigueroa@modbee.com

The Modesto Bee

Reporter Maria Luisa Figueroa is a Modesto native. She attended San Francisco State University.