A popular coffee chain raised funds to give food to people in need through its signature brownies and cookies.
Starbucks Philippines on January 28 hosted its first Venti Van pop-up event with the slogan “Fill It Forward” along 5th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Patrons were invited to purchase brownies and cookies for P50 each for a cause. The event took place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
This fundraiser was part of Starbucks’ FoodShare food donation program in partnership with the Philippine FoodBank Foundation.
Photos of moments from this event were uploaded on Starbucks Philippines’ social media accounts.
The company also thanked its patrons who participated in its food drive.
“Here are some Share It Forward snippets on what happened last Saturday at Bonifacio Global City!” Starbucks said in the caption.
“Thank you to all our donors for a wonderful day and for filling it forward to our FoodShare beneficiaries through The Philippine FoodBank Foundation. We wouldn’t have done this without the support from our community,” it added.
In this event, patrons did not bring home the cookies and brownies they purchased. Instead, these products served as donations to the partner communities through Starbucks and the food bank.
Those who participated were encouraged to personalize their purchases with heartfelt notes on the packaging.
By the end of the day, around 500 brownies and cookies were sold in BGC. These brownies and cookies were sent to the foundation’s beneficiaries.
Starbucks FoodShare program was launched in March 2022. Its pilot location was in Metro Manila.
Since then, the company and the Philippine FoodBank Foundation have donated over 300,000 food items to communities in need.
These food items came from its 236 stores across Metro Manila.
The food donation program has also partnered with Grab Philippines for the pickup and delivery of food donations.
Char Vilchez, manager for Marketing and Global Responsibility, expressed gratitude to the customers who were willing to get involved in Starbucks’ goal to give back to the people.
“At Starbucks, Filling it Forward means extending beyond the holidays and starting the year right by giving back to our community. We’re happy that our customers have expressed so much love and support for this initiative, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to drive meaningful change for local communities,” Vilchez said.
“This 2023, we plan to expand FoodShare to more places and have more people involved from different areas as we continue to help fight hunger in the Philippines,” she added.
The Venti Van event, meanwhile, has yet to announce its next stop.