American coffee chain expands support for hunger relief in Philippines

CEBU, Philippines — Marking its 25th year in the Philippines, American multinational chain of coffeehouses, Starbucks expands its investments in helping the broader Filipino community.

This is in partnership with Grab, the Philippine FoodBank Foundation and Gawad Kalinga, Starbucks Philippines.

In celebration of its commitment to building a more sustainable future in the market and in support of Starbucks global people positive ambition to enhance the well-being of 1 billion people by 2030, Michael Conway, group president, Starbucks International and Channel Development, and Noey Lopez, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Starbucks Philippines, announced that Starbucks Philippines will award a USD$25,000 grant to the Philippine FoodBank Foundation and another USD$25,000 grant to Gawad Kalinga.

These grants will focus on expanding the ongoing Starbucks FoodShare and Gawad Kalinga’s Kusina ng Kalinga feeding programs.

As the company marks its 25th year in the Philippines, Starbucks strengthened its commitment to positively impact the well-being of all who connect with Starbucks by supporting hunger relief in the market by expanding the reach of its partnerships.

“Starbucks has always been a different kind of company, one deep with purpose,” said Michael Conway, group president, Starbucks International and Channel Development.

“Since we entered the Philippines 25 years ago, Starbucks now has more than 400 stores, and we are using our scale for good by creating meaningful impact for our partners, customers and communities. We’re proud of our green apron partners in the Philippines and the impact they are making to reduce hunger and support the well-being of their communities,” noted Conway.

“Much of the transformative work on our fight against hunger is possible because of the support of The Starbucks Foundation, and dedication of our community impact partners,” said Noey Lopez, president of Starbucks Philippines.

In April 2022, The Starbucks Foundation awarded a USD$50,000 Global Community Impact Grant to Gawad Kalinga to support the Kusina ng Kalinga, a food donation program that will reach more than 600 children.

The program aims to bring children back to proper nutrition within 95 days.

The Kusina ng Kalinga program had started the implementation of the program in Gawad Kalinga communities in Toyota, Sta. Rosa Laguna and Tribuin, Batasan Hills since July 2022.

Starbucks Philippines’ additional grant will help the Kusina ng Kalinga program reach more children and families, and Starbucks Philippines partners (employees) will also volunteer with the community kitchens to help with food preparation and distribution.

Starbucks Philippines is the first market in Southeast Asia to pilot Starbucks FoodShare food donation program through its partnership with Philippine FoodBank Foundation and Grab.

Since January 2022, participating Starbucks stores connect with Grab drivers to pick up food donations carefully prepared by partners daily and deliver them to the Philippine FoodBank Foundation. The food bank then distributes donations to communities in need of food assistance within Metro Manila.

Since the program launched in January 2022, the company has donated close to 200,000 food items to communities in need.

Established in 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, the specialty coffee chain has more than 32,000 stores around the world.