Around the country, bakeries, cafés and restaurants are jumping on board to help less fortunate members of their communities.

The ‘suspended coffee’ trend enables a customer to pre-purchase a coffee, so someone in need can later receive the item at no cost

In New South Wales, Sugarloaf Patisserie, Michel’s Patisserie and Baker Caker Coffeemaker are taking part, with Red Door Bakery in South Australia, Master Cakes Bakehouse in Victoria, Chocs and Pops in Queensland and Croissant Express Carillon in Western Australia among the businesses on board.

Manager of Brisbane café Espresso Train Kirsty Balmer started offering suspended coffee in May and said the initiative has become popular with the local community.

“The customer base here in Nundah is what I term the ‘concerned consumer’; a lot are employed in social and community services in the area and I knew they would be empathetic to the suspended coffee movement,” Kirsty said.

“People who come to claim the suspended coffee will often stand and have a conversation with customers at the counter and this has really opened the dialogue between people who are homeless, or down on their luck and people who are a bit more fortunate. This has been really interesting.”

As well as assisting a diverse group of locals, which includes recovering drug addicts, single mothers, pensioners and people with learning disabilities, Kirsty said the initiative brings in additional business.

“It’s a great idea, not only because we have a chance to give a little heartwarming gift to someone in need, but also it means people are buying an extra coffee, so from a business perspective, it helps push sales up,” she said.