NEW YORK, June 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Starbucks, Feeding America® and City Harvest announced the launch of Starbucks FoodShare in New York City. As part of the FoodShare program, Starbucks donates nourishing, ready-to-eat meals to Feeding America member food banks and food rescue organizations from its company-operated stores in the United States.
The program will launch with donations from 45 local Starbucks locations, and is estimated to provide over 197,000 pounds of food, or the equivalent of close to 164,000 meals* annually in New York City. At scale, when the market is fully launched in 2018, the program expects to expand to all 305 Starbucks stores in Manhattan and donate the equivalent of more than one million meals annually to residents in need.
FoodShare donations will be packed nightly by Starbucks partners (employees) and picked up in refrigerated City Harvest vehicles from Starbucks stores seven days a week, year-round. At each location, City Harvest drivers will ensure food safety and then transport the food to New York City soup kitchens, food pantries and community food programs. Food items will include Bistro Boxes, breakfast sandwiches, paninis, salads, yogurt and high-quality baked goods.
“There are 42 million people in the U.S. who are food insecure,” said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks CEO. “FoodShare presents an incredible opportunity to help combat hunger, rescuing 100 percent of available-to-donate food from our U.S. stores and getting it in the hands of those who need it most.”
Starbucks has launched the FoodShare program in 10 markets, including New York City, and has donated more than one million meals to people in need. The program will scale over the next three years and rescue 100 percent of its food available for donation from all company-operated U.S. stores.
“Nearly 1.4 million New Yorkers face hunger every year, including around one in four New York City children,” said Jilly Stephens, CEO of City Harvest. “We are proud to partner with Starbucks to ensure that residents who struggle with food insecurity have access to wholesome meals. City Harvest was founded by neighbors who sought to help their neighbors and the FoodShare program exemplifies what we can accomplish by working together.”
“Every day, Feeding America network members, like City Harvest, help people who face hunger,” said Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America. “We are thankful to Starbucks for its commitment to ending hunger and supporting families in need. FoodShare is a truly innovative program that will have a tremendous impact in New York City and in communities across the country.”
For more information about City Harvest, please visit https://www.cityharvest.org/.
*According to the USDA, 1 meal is equivalent to 1.2 pounds of food.
ABOUT CITY HARVEST
City Harvest pioneered food rescue in 1982 and, this year, will collect 55 million pounds of excess food to help feed the nearly 1.4 million New Yorkers struggling to put meals on their tables. Through relationships with farms, grocers, restaurants and manufacturers, City Harvest collects nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it free of charge to 500 soup kitchens, food pantries and other community food programs across the five boroughs. In addition to helping meet the immediate need for food, City Harvest developed long-term Healthy Neighborhoods programs which partner with low-income communities to increase access to fresh produce and help residents shop for and cook nutritious, budget-conscious meals. To learn more about food rescue, Healthy Neighborhoods and fighting hunger in New York City, visit cityharvest.org.
ABOUT STARBUCKS
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at http://news.starbucks.com.