The Starbucks Mercato menu features an herb chicken and fig sandwich.

SEATTLE — Starbucks Corp. unveiled plans to launch Starbucks Mercato, a new menu of lunch items, during its annual meeting of shareholders March 22. Starbucks Mercato will feature grab-and-go salads and sandwiches that are made daily and meet a variety of dietary lifestyles.

The Mercato menu initially will launch in more than 100 stores in Chicago on April 11 with plans to expand to other U.S. markets. Leftover items will be donated nightly to local food banks through Starbucks' FoodShare program with Feeding America.

Starbucks recently introduced a gluten-free smoked Canadian bacon breakfast sandwich.

Starbucks also introduced a gluten-free smoked Canadian bacon breakfast sandwich and a certified vegan sprouted grain bagel that will be offered in Starbucks stores across the United States. The two introductions show how Starbucks is meeting customers’ needs for on-the-go choices that fit their lifestyles, the Seattle-based company said.

Starbucks has grown its food business by 1.5 times since 2013 and plans to double its food business by 2021.

Teavana shaken iced tea infusions with no artificial flavors or sweeteners will launch this summer. The items will be available in three varieties: pineapple black tea infusion, strawberry green tea infusion and peach citrus white tea infusion. The taste is a balance of premium tea and freshly steeped fruit and botanical blends, Starbucks said.

A certified vegan sprouted grain bagel has joined Starbucks' menu.

Starbucks also said it plans to create more than 240,000 jobs globally, including 68,000 in the United States, as the company plans to open 12,000 new stores globally, including 3,400 in the United States, by fiscal year 2021.