Starbucks Supports Hurricane Relief Efforts Across North America and Caribbean  

September 26, 2022 • 3 min read

Updated October 7, 2022

As communities across North America and the Caribbean are impacted by this hurricane season, Starbucks and The Starbucks Foundation remain committed to supporting disaster relief efforts on the ground, leveraging long-term nonprofit partnerships and tapping into our local Starbucks teams to deliver critical support.

Hurricane Fiona  

Through partnerships with World Central Kitchen and the Red Cross, The Starbucks Foundation is supporting preparedness and relief efforts to communities impacted by Hurricane Fiona. World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is distributing thousands of meals a day to impacted communities across Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Turks & Caicos. The Red Cross is providing relief and comfort to Fiona survivors across Puerto Rico and Canada, including distributing relief items and providing health and mental health services.

  • Puerto Rico: With the island facing significant flooding and power outages, Starbucks stores across Puerto Rico are offering a free Tall-size coffee of the day to Hurricane Fiona first responders assisting with relief efforts. The offer is available at participating stores through September 28, 2022. Starbucks is continuing to monitor impact of Hurricane Fiona on coffee communities in Puerto Rico in partnership with its supply chain and industry stakeholders. This commitment to community resilience builds on previous support in the region, including investments to rebuild and create a more sustainable future for Puerto Rican coffee farmers following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
  • Dominican Republic: Starbucks stores in Santo Domingo are hosting a goods donation drive to support communities impacted by Hurricane Fiona. Stores are accepting water, canned food, clothes, towels and bed sheets through September 30, 2022. Supplies will be sorted via local nonprofit Abrazos de Esperanza in partnership with St. Joseph School and delivered directly to areas most affected by the storm, including Punta Cana, Higüey, El Seibo.  

Hurricane Ian 

Starbucks and The Starbucks Foundation are closely monitoring the impact of Hurricane Ian to provide needed support to partners (employees) and communities.

  • First and foremost, our leaders are focused on continued partner care and safety as communities in the Southeast begin to recover. In addition to our partnership with World Central Kitchen, Starbucks has issued nearly $450,000 in grants to more than 800 partners (employees) through the Caring Unites Partners (CUP) Fund since Hurricane Ian made landfall, primarily focused on housing, evacuation expenses and groceries.
  • In response to the relief efforts underway to support communities impacted by Hurricane Ian, The Starbucks Foundation is contributing $200,000 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. This contribution is part of a larger commitment that The Starbucks Foundation has with the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program annually. The Red Cross is providing food, shelter and comfort for people facing the devastation left behind Hurricane Ian, with more than 1,600 Red Crossers supporting relief efforts, more than 600,000 meals provided and nearly 100,000 comfort kits and other relief items distributed. 
  • In addition, The Starbucks Foundation is supporting World Central Kitchen, which served 200,000 meals to impacted communities in the first week after Hurricane Ian’s landfall. They continue to provide meals to those in need and first responders.

How To Support  

For Starbucks partners (employees) and customers looking to help impacted communities, you can join The Starbucks Foundation and World Central Kitchen to help people affected by making a donation at the register at any U.S. company-owned store or directly on World Central Kitchen’s website. In addition, Starbucks is inviting customers to make a donation to World Central Kitchen through the Starbucks mobile app in the U.S. through October 12.

Donate

Customers in Canada can make a donation at the register in any Canada company-owned store to support the Canadian Red Cross. 

The Starbucks Foundation strengthens humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster. Established in 1997, The Starbucks Foundation is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization under U.S. law.  

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