Lol I don't get paid enough NOT to take all the food and drink I want

Transfer to a real Starbucks hunny!

at our store we’re not allowed to take anything, at any time for free. our whole team was almost let go because of this

That sucks! Our leaders allow generous sampling and during the height of covid stress, one drink during your shift. Sounds like you have a terrible upper level team. Was this decision brought down by your personal TL, an ETL or your SD? depending on who, you might be able to argue it. We’ve had horrible store directors and recently lucked out on a super reasonable one. He has issues with people eating and drinking behind or near the bar, or leaving food out at the risk of an Ecolab visit, all reasonable stuff. Sampling is critical for being able to recommend drinks to guests. Consider talking to you Tarbucks district manager. They usually have the most leverage, and lean waaay more toward starbucks rules than target rules.