GENEVA, Ill., Feb. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In the United States, over 100 billion pounds of food go to waste each year while 47 million people face hunger. Today, Northern Illinois Food Bank, a national leader in food rescue, is recognizing Starbucks for a decade of leadership in addressing food insecurity and sustainability through the Starbucks FoodShare program. This February marks a major milestone for FoodShare, a national initiative that has helped provide more than 121 million meals nationwide to people facing hunger since 2016, while also significantly reducing food waste across the country.
Through Starbuck’s FoodShare’s innovative backhaul logistics model, surplus food is rescued daily and delivered safely to food banks, helping meet immediate needs while building a more sustainable food system.
For the past 10 years, Starbucks has led a nationwide effort to safely donate surplus food from U.S. company-operated coffeehouses to local food banks and partner agencies. These donations include breakfast sandwiches, Protein Boxes, pastries, and other fresh items that help neighbors access nutritious food with dignity. Through daily donations, FoodShare has become one of the largest food rescue programs in the country.
Northern Illinois Food Bank launched its partnership with Starbucks FoodShare in 2018, creating a powerful collaboration to reduce food waste and fight hunger across the region. Since then, the program has provided 5.5 million pounds of nourishing food to Northern Illinois Food Bank’s neighbors facing hunger.
Beyond food donations, Starbucks has contributed more than $500,000 to strengthen Northern Illinois Food Bank’s FoodShare operations. These funds support essential equipment and supplies that enable volunteers to safely sort, store, and prepare rescued food for distribution through the Food Bank’s network of food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.
“This partnership could not come at a more critical time,” said Julie Yurko, President and CEO of Northern Illinois Food Bank. “We are serving more neighbors than ever before and programs like Starbucks FoodShare help us meet urgent needs while strengthening the charitable food system.”
FoodShare was created after Starbucks partners, seeing growing need in their communities, advocated for a way to donate unsold food.
Northern Illinois Food Bank provides over 93 million meals a year through its network of 900 food pantries and programs in 13 counties throughout suburban and rural Northern Illinois. For more information visit SolveHungerToday.org.
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SOURCE Northern Illinois Food Bank
