Starbucks Canada & The Starbucks Foundation announce $1M donation to help Canada’s food crisis

With their vow to reduce single-use waste, the launch of their FoodShare program and more, Starbucks Canada continues to show their commitment to community betterment and giving back. The company announced today their donation of over $1 million to help Canada’s food crisis which has only gotten worse with the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has left thousands of Canadians struggling to put food on the table because of pay cuts, layoffs, hospitalization and more. More than ever, Canada’s food banks and shelters are in need of both financial and food support in order to serve the growing numbers of citizens relying on their services.

Starbucks Canada, along with nonprofit The Starbucks Foundation, are contributing to the food crisis relief in the following ways:

• Two-thirds of the support will come from Starbucks Canada in the way of food donations from its distribution centers to help replenish stock in food banks across the country.
• Assistance will be spread across Canada, helping among others:
  • Moisson Food Bank in Montreal
  • Second Harvest in Toronto
  • Calgary Food Bank and Inn from the Cold, Calgary
  • Quest Food Exchange, Surrey Food Bank and Maple Ridge Food Bank, Vancouver.

In terms of financial support:

• The Starbucks Foundation will contribute financial support by donating $280,000 to Food Banks Canada’s COVID-19 Response Fund. This contribution will help provide resources (for example, boxes for pre-packaged food) to local food banks so that they can adapt their operations to comply with physical distancing. It will also allow them to hire more staff to keep up with demand and allow them to replenish their dwindling stock.
• The Starbucks Foundation will donate $70,000 to Second Harvest. The funds will go towards the organization’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support the delivery, redistribution, and logistics of the food donation supply chain during the pandemic.
• Starbucks Canada is donating $24,000 to its existing social agency partners, Yonge Street Mission in Toronto and Woods Homes in Calgary, to help meet their increased demand to produce meals for the vulnerable youth they serve.

The public is encouraged to follow the company’s lead and donate what they can to support Food Banks Canada here.