Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Teams Up With Starbucks And Feeding America® To Launch Starbucks FoodShare Program

Starbucks FoodShare expected to donate 5,894,775 pounds of ready-to-eat food each year

News provided by

Sep 14, 2018, 08:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Starbucks, Feeding America® and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank announced the launch of the Starbucks FoodShare program in LA County.

As part of the FoodShare program, Starbucks donates nourishing, ready-to-eat meals each day to Feeding America member food banks from its company-operated stores in the U.S. With donations from 369 local Starbucks locations, the program is estimated to provide 5,894,775 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of 4.9 million meals* annually in the LA County.

"One in seven people in LA County struggles with hunger, including one in four children," said Michael Flood, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. "We are proud to work with Starbucks to ensure that people who struggle with hunger have access to wholesome meals. Starbucks FoodShare exemplifies what we can accomplish when we work together."

"Organizations like the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank make it possible for our surplus food to get into the hands that need it most," said Laura Olson, Starbucks director of Global Social Impact. "We take great pride in supporting the communities we serve in any way we can. Through FoodShare, our partners are able to give back to people in need and address one of the most serious issues we have today, hunger."

Starbucks FoodShare donations will be picked up in refrigerated vehicles from Starbucks stores seven days a week, year-round. At each location, drivers will check all items to ensure food safety and transport the food to local partner agencies for distribution. Food items include Bistro Boxes, breakfast sandwiches, paninis, salads, yogurts and high-quality baked goods.

Starbucks intends to scale this program by 2020 and rescue 100 percent of its food available for donation from participating company-operated U.S. stores.

For more information about the Starbucks FoodShare program at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, please visit lafoodbank.org/foodshare.

*According to the USDA, 1 meal is the equivalent of 1.2 pounds of food.

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has worked to fight hunger in Los Angeles County since 1973 and has distributed the equivalent of more than 1 billion meals across our community. The Food Bank provides food to more than 300,000 clients on a monthly basis and distributed 70 million pounds of food in 2017 to children, seniors, working families, veterans and other neighbors in need. To support the vision that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County, nutritious food is distributed through a network of more than 650 partner agencies, directly to children through our Children's Backpack and Summer Lunch programs, to approximately 27,000 seniors each month through our Senior Nutrition program and to working families and college students through our Mobile Food Pantry. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is a 4-star rated charity by Charity Navigator. For more information, visit lafoodbank.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.

ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Contact: David May
Director of Marketing
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
323-234-3030 x 134
[email protected]

SOURCE Los Angeles Regional Food Bank