Local co-op helps others commit random acts of coffee

A local business in South Bend is warming up the hearts and bellies of their customers this winter.

At the Purple Porch Co-op people are going out of their way to buy a cup of coffee for someone else in hopes of creating a pay it forward concept throughout the community.

The original idea was brought to the Purple Porch by a customer who saw a similar program at a coffee shop in St. Louis.

And now anyone can come in to the Purple Porch, pay for a cup of coffee, and post a card for whoever they want to receive that free cup.

"It's just a random surprise if you look up and you are having a bad day and somebody is like this is a random cup of coffee for somebody that is having a bad day its pretty neat because it's no longer just a cup of coffee. It transforms into something where you are relating with people that you don't even know and you've never even met and might never meet but it's neat to know that somebody relates to you in one of those ways," said customer Jessica Dieter.