Starbucks U.S. food waste plan has Canadian food banks ‘delighted’
From the CBC
A new plan by Starbucks to end food waste at its U.S. locations by donating all unused food to the needy won’t be coming to Canada just yet, but similar initiatives already exist on a local level — and the move by Starbucks may be part of a broader trend in the restaurant industry.
The coffee behemoth has dubbed its U.S. program FoodShare, and says it will use refrigerated vans to pick up unsold food from its 7,600 U.S. company-operated stores and distribute it through food banks. Starbucks claims the initiative will deliver almost 50 million meals by 2021 and help divert food waste from landfills.
Starbucks says it’s “looking into” formalizing a national Canadian program to eliminate food waste through food donations, but a spokeswoman said a timeline for such a program isn’t available. Still, some of Starbucks’ roughly 1,300 Canadian locations already donate food to local food banks.
In Toronto, distribution of food donations from local Starbucks — and many other restaurants — are co-ordinated by Second Harvest, a “food rescue” program that works to prevent waste and feed the hungry by recycling surplus food from restaurants, retailers and manufacturers.