Starbucks Canada Is Now Donating Their Leftover Food To Those In Need

Just when you thought that you couldn’t love Starbucks more than you already do, their Canadian locations decide to pull off an amazingly generous deed. And really, it’s something that can change the world if other companies jump on board.

Starbucks Canada recently made the announcement that they’ll be cutting down on their amount of food waste by also helping out their community. All of the delicious treats that they don’t sell will be donated to those who are less fortunate. And that number is much higher than you may assume.

According to a graph posted by Kelowna Now, hunger is an issue in one out of eight Canadian households. If you live in a suburban area, you can easily visualize how many people go without. Food waste is also an issue, with 58% of food — which is way more than half — getting tossed after going bad or simply not selling. If you bought a tin of cookies at the store, it’d be reasonable to hold onto them for days. But at a place like Starbucks, you don’t want to risk selling food that might be stale. Thus, things rotate out pretty often.

Over 250 stores will be participating, which is huge. Just imagine if the stores in America ran the same program.

The program does plan to expand, which is wonderful news — but just throughout Canada for now. The first stores that’ll be donating will be located in Greater Toronto.

Kelowna Now reports that Starbucks Canada is hoping to make the program spread nationwide by 2021. Which isn’t that far away, if you think about it.

While Starbucks has donated some of their baked goods in the past, this is the first time they’ll be donating food that’s fresh and needs proper refrigeration. They’ll be pairing up with an organization called Second Harvest in order to achieve this goal.

All in all, Starbucks is hoping to donate 1.5 million meals to the needy every year. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

We’re proud to partner with @secondharvestca to launch #StarbucksFoodShare – our commitment to rescue 100% of food available to donate to provide nourishing meals to those in need. https://t.co/guUpuGXLk1 pic.twitter.com/lIy8rb8YhJ

— Starbucks Canada (@StarbucksCanada) February 4, 2019

Plenty of baristas who work, or once worked for, Starbucks are applauding their effort. They’ve seen firsthand how much food waste each location creates every week.

This is amazing! I remember how much food used to go to waste when I worked at @StarbucksCanada - so many people will benefit 👏🏼

— Mlle Rebecca Lewis (@mllelewisz) February 5, 2019

Others feel like efforts like this are long overdue. When you have a food waste problem as well as a hunger problem, the solution seems pretty obvious.

Starbucks Canada is really into kind gestures. They’re even spreading love on their cups.

loving the vibes at the 127st & 153ave #yeg @StarbucksCanada today ✨💕 pic.twitter.com/Zu83cAYoXh

— Shelby Dianna (@ShelbyDianna24) February 7, 2019

And if they don’t spread words of kindness and love on the cup, they spread it on the receipt. Just look at this:

I'm not saying this made my day, but this totally made my day. @StarbucksCanada pic.twitter.com/P5Nw8XpUx8

— Tanysha Smith (@Tanoshatron) February 7, 2019

Even though Starbucks is #1, Starbucks Canada may be the real secret favorite. Surely if you’ve ever visited one, you’d be welcomed with open arms.

Thank you to our partners! We're proud to be named a top 10 @Glassdoor Best Place to Work in 2019. #BPTW https://t.co/twAc0ug0iJ pic.twitter.com/jB5C39pzkc

— Starbucks Canada (@StarbucksCanada) December 5, 2018

Fingers crossed that other branches of Starbucks join in. Even if they don’t, there are still plenty of ways you can solve the food waste problem. Just take some pointers from Second Harvest.

The organization provides 34,000 daily meals using found surplus. They’re always looking for donations and volunteers to help drive food out.

Volunteers also help sort food and provide administrative help. It’s a wonderful opportunity for those in the Toronto area.

Of course, there are other food banks if you want to pitch in and make a difference (and don’t live in Canada). It’s important to remember whenever we eat out that there’s plenty of people who go to bed hungry —and the basket of rolls you requested but never ate would have made a big difference to them.

Now that Starbucks Canada is making such a big move, maybe more people will be willing to try and help solve this problem. Food waste also causes a bunch of environmental problems that you may not even realize.

Forbes notes that wasting food also wastes all of the resources that went into making it. Wasted food takes up crop space and also wastes a ton of water. Remember, your food probably went through a lot of processes before it became your lunch.

Instead of moving to Canada (as wonderful as that would be), maybe you should try to take some social actions the same way that the Canadians are doing. Read up on how you can try your hardest to eliminate your own food waste.

Plan meals accordingly, and perhaps alter your grocery days to ensure you don’t have rotting, unused produce by the end of the week. And if you have any additional time, helping out a food bank would be incredibly beneficial for both you and your community.