Starbucks Pledges to Donate 100 Percent of Their Unsold Food

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Starbucks serves a lot more than just lattes and frappuccinos. Food items like their prepackaged bistro boxes account for a fair portion of their sales, and now the coffee chain has pledged to donate 100 percent of their leftover prepared meals to charity, Fortune reports.

The initiative, called FoodShare, is a collaboration between Starbucks and the organizations Food Donation Connection (FDC) and Feeding America. At the end of each day, representatives from FDC will visit 7600 Starbucks locations across America and pick up whatever food wasn't sold; from there it will be handed off to Feeding America, who will distribute the meals to food banks.

Starbucks has been giving away its leftover pastries to charities since 2010, but this marks the first time they've expanded their donations to include items that are especially perishable. Stricter safety evaluations and refrigerated vans will ensure the food is still suitable to eat by the time it reaches the mouths of those who need it.

And there will be plenty to go around. According to NPR, up to 10 percent of the food that restaurants buy ends up going to waste. Starbucks is just one of many chains, like Chipotle, Chik-fil-A, Olive Garden, and Pizza Hut, working with Food Donation Connection to deliver their leftovers to those in need.

[h/t Fortune]