Students at Santa Fe Christian High School in Solana Beach are running a coffee shop that sources its beans directly from farmers in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains.

The Landing, a student-operated coffee shop on the Santa Fe Christian campus, opened Jan. 30 and has served coffee, drinks and food to students and staff for more than seven months, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sept. 13, based on a school news release.

The shop is part of the school's Business & Entrepreneurship Program, directed by Sonia Sturgeon. Students take shifts during their study hall periods to serve customers, manage operations and handle day-to-day decisions. The Landing and a companion campus retail store, The Flight Deck, are open weekdays from 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are fully staffed by students, according to the school.

The Landing partners with Vista Bean, an Oceanside-based coffee company owned by Ryan and Ali Ash. Vista Bean works with farmers in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains through a model it calls Sharetrade, purchasing beans at what the school describes as fair prices. The beans are roasted in Oceanside before reaching the campus shop.

When Vista Bean learned that Rwenzori-area farmers lacked processing infrastructure, the company partnered with Prince and Heidi Sabena to establish Jenga Coffee, a local processing facility in Uganda, the news release stated.

Santa Fe Christian already had ties to Uganda through its Global Ministries Program and a partnership with Kuwasha, an organization that operates a K–12 school in the Kibaale area. Through Kuwasha, Vista Bean connected with additional farmers who were growing coffee but had no way to process or export it. Vista Bean and Kuwasha are now exploring ways to process that coffee and are working on plans for a school that would serve Rwenzori-area farmers.

"I want them to understand that they can help people and make a difference," Sturgeon said of her students in the news release.

Senior Tori Wallace and 2026 graduate Lola Hubbell are among the students who have worked at The Landing. In April 2027, students from the Business & Entrepreneurship Program are scheduled to travel to Uganda to meet the farmers who grow the coffee they serve and to participate in efforts connected to the planned school.

SFC High School Principal Mike Siciliano said in February that the school plans to launch a new student business each year. The school also plans to expand the program with a second-level course, Applied Business and Financial Literacy.

Santa Fe Christian's Eagle Expo is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28.