Starbucks in the United States has teamed up with Food Donation Connection and Feeding America in a programme called FoodShare that will see the company donate all of its surplus prepared meals to food banks.
According to Fortune, Starbucks has been working since 2010 to donate leftover pastries, and now they have found a way to preserve the quality of other foods during delivery, which could add up to almost 5 million meals at the end of the scheme’s first year in operation.
John Kelly, senior VP of Starbucks Global Responsibility, Community and Public Policy said the innovation and inspiration came from the staff on the ground: ”Like many of our social impact initiatives, the innovation and inspiration comes from our partners who are volunteering in and contributing to their communities. They saw the need for us to do more, and find a way to use our scale to bring more nourishing and ready-to-eat meals to those in need.”
According to the USDA, 48.1 million — or about one in seven — Americans lived in households in 2014 that, at some point during the year, were unable or unsure of where to get their next meal.
In Ireland, over 600,000 people experience food poverty, according to Healthy Food For All.
