Technically, yes you can be. It’s a donation for a partnership Starbucks has, so you’re “stealing” from that. HOWEVER, there are few people who would do that, and it’s really just an excuse for a manager to fire someone they want to get rid of. It happened at my store, with a partner who needed to be fired, but couldn’t be because she never did anything big enough...until she stole a croissant...

Don’t stress though, you got the okay to do it so it’s fine!!

you're fine!! we take home the expired food everyday and then donate the rest

You can. I've known more than one manager who would donate to the hungry barista fund, but short of that it's a major risk to you personally.

I worked at Starbucks for a year and took home food most days I closed. I’m talking 4-5 brown bags. I’d give it away to family and friends on my way home. We did not have a donation partnership set up when I worked there though. (The store used to, but when the specific shelter realized the food was past the expiration date, they refused to take any more.) I personally think you are fine. The food is “expired” anyways. If you feel weird about it you can always check with the supervisor you’re working with that night and see if they’re cool with it.

Technically not allowed, and people have been fired for doing it, however most managers don't care, they'd rather see the food get eaten instead of ending up in the trash. When people do get fired for this it's usually the justification when other problems are too flimsy to justify termination.

I've seen people fired for theft (taking expired food,) but typically it's ACTUALLY for another reason that doesn't warrant immediate termination, so "theft" is an easier option. Our entire night crew at on if my stores were fired over it. 2 shifts and 4 baristas. Half of them were terrible at their jobs, late frequently, call outs, etc so the manager just needed a quick way to get rid of the whole culture....or at least that was my view of the situation. I still eat expired pastries sometimes....

As long as you’re not doing it in front of the cameras 😎you’ll be fine, but technically you can get fired lol