@thetrashwalker / TikTok
Patrons and social media commenters are upset after a TikTok video surfaced showing what appears to be a significant amount of discarded food outside a recently closed Starbucks location at 2394 Broadway (between 87th and 88th streets).
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The video was posted June 22 by Anna Sacks – more commonly known as @thetrashwalker on TikTok and Instagram – and has amassed more than 2.5M views and 5,700 comments.
@thetrashwalker Starbucks store closing #nyc #donate #donatedontdump #dumpsterdiving #haul #food #shopping #recycle #climatechange #reuse #foodie #starbucks #free #zerowaste #eco #sustainable #ecofriendly #coffee ? Healing, sleep and meditation-Reiki – Red Blue Studio
A native Upper West Sider we’ve previously written about, Sacks has built a TikTok following of more than 420,000 by calling out brands and businesses over wastefulness, often using the hashtag #donatedontdump. Past TikTok videos have featured local establishments like the Duane Reade on 79th and Amsterdam and the former Mermaid Inn location at 570 Amsterdam Ave.
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The Starbucks-focused video from June 22 is one of Sacks’ most-viewed posts. Frustrated viewers left comments asking why the food wasn’t donated or brought to another Starbucks location. One commenter claiming to have been previously employed by Starbucks said, “We weren’t allowed to take leftovers to give to [homeless] people or shelters, and we got fired for taking it for ourselves.”
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The fact that there are other Starbuck’s locations a stone’s throw away only added to public frustration.
“That’s the Starbucks I go to,” one commenter wrote. “One opened one block away on 86th…why couldn’t they just take that stuff literally 100 ft to the new store?”
When reached for comment a Starbucks spokesperson provided the following statement:
“In this video, Starbucks can confirm that the food pictured was no longer deemed safe to transfer or donate per food donation standards, and per policy [we are] required to discard. The Starbucks FoodShare program was available at this store, and in partnership with Feeding America regular food donations went to the Food Bank for New York City.
“Starbucks FoodShare program is available at all company-operated stores in the U.S and Canada.?In New York City, since 2019 Starbucks has donated 4,249,050 pounds of food, or 3,540,875 meals, to the Food Bank for New York City.”
Trying to ruin people on or in any media without getting all facts is ruining businesses and the country.
People need to know facts.
well said.
Fascinating that people are so willing to believe PR statements from massive corporations as “facts”. LOL. Enjoy your Venti Carmel Double Shot Latte of Lies, for the low low price of your perceived “intellect” and $15!
There was a time not so long ago when any pastries unsold by 5 pm were put out in a basket on the counter, and anyone could take them. And Starbucks employees regularly put together small bags of pastries for the local homeless who walked in.
Seems that Starbucks has “corporatized” this, which has apparently led to unnecessary waste. Typical.
I have to agree with Starbucks on this one (altho Im not a patron). Presumably expired food won’t do anyone any favors.
If you’re nuts enough to pay $15 for a coffee, go ahead! You’re helping the local economy.
I love the way that so many people have this impression that Starbucks charges “$15” (or $10, or whatever) for coffee. It has become a meme of sorts, a false narrative of the company that is based on the feeling that their coffee is “overpriced.”
It is, if you want to pay $1.50 for BAD diner coffee, or $2. for Dunkin coffee that only needs one more brown crayon to make it stronger.
In actuality, a regular coffee at Starbucks is between $3.25 and $5, depending on size. It is the “specialty” coffees that can run up to, not $15, but ~$6, or maybe $8. Yes, that is ALOT to pay for coffee. But in actuality, “specialty” drinks at Dunkin and other places are not THAT much less expensive.
So let’s stop with the hyperbole and overstatement, shall we? Starbucks charges more for their coffee for several reasons, not least that it is better (to millions of people) than any other chain, and also because they support local bean growers throughout South and Central America, and also offer a more environmentally friendly coffee.
If you don’t like Starbucks, that’s fine. Not everyone does. But don’t feel you have to lie about them in order to do so.
NO fan of Starbucks: lousy coffee, overpriced, too many of them, bad to their workers, anti-union, run by an oligarch who pretends otherwise. But donating food is highly regulated to be sure that the food is safe. They may indeed have wasted food here, but more information is needed to know for sure.
Everyone keeps saying “overpriced.” Yet the same size coffee that is $3.25 at Starbucks is $2 at Dunkin and $1.50 or $2 at a diner. (BTW, for those using hyperbole like “$15” coffee, note that the most expensive drink at Starbucks is ~$7. with tax. Even extra “pumps” of flavor are only $.80 a piece, so it would take ALOT of effort to end up with a “$15” coffee.)
Ultimately, you get what you pay for. Dunkin is “weak” next to Starbucks, and diner coffee is even weaker. If that is what you like, fine. But for those who like more robust coffee, Starbucks is the best.
As well, as I noted elsewhere, you are not just paying for coffee. You are paying for locally sourced bean growers (which neither Dunkin nor diners care about), and “environmentally friendly” coffee (which, again, neither Dunkin nor diners care about).
As for anti-union, it is true that Schultz and Co. are generally anti-union. That is because Starbucks offers FAR more to their employees than any other coffee franchise in terms of benefits, etc. – particularly since one does not even have to be “full-time” to get those benefits. So Starbucks corporate simply believes that unionization is unnecessary.
That said, Starbucks employees have had a pretty good record of successful unionization when they really want it. Yes, “corporate” fights against it. But they don’t always win. So when employees really WANT to unionize, they can, and do, and win as often as they lose.
I have no particular stake, financial or otherwise, in Starbucks. But I am a HUGE fan of honesty, accuracy and facts – all of which are sadly lacking in so many of the anti-Starbucks comments here. Starbucks is hardly an “angelic” company, but they are a better company than most people give them credit for.
Anna Sacks AKA TheTrashwalker is known for promoting “Poverty Porn,” so this post isn’t that much different than the other stuff she posts on Instagram.
She’s made a reputation for decrying waste by posting businesses and charities with items on the street. However, she never posts the addresses of what she finds. Is it to keep it to herself? Or just show off? No matter how many times her followers leave comments asking where the food/home cleaners/diapers/clothing is located, she never responds to them.
Why bother helping people when you can shine the spotlight on yourself?
Ever read the Guardian article about her? Not only does she come across as smug and self-important, the journalist subtly points out that instead of helping a homeless person she comes across, she dumps platitudes on him.
Take anything and everything she does with a grain of salt.