Four Panera Bakery-Cafes In Southeastern Connecticut Donate $1,486 To Feeding America Partner, Connecticut Food Bank

November 21, 2013 — Through Panera Bread’s new partnership with Feeding America®, all four of its bakery-cafes in southeastern Connecticut (Foxwoods Casino, Groton, Lisbon and Waterford) announce their first donation of $1,486.86 to Connecticut Food Bank, a Feeding America® member food bank based in East Haven, Connecticut.  The third quarter donations were collected through the cafes’ ongoing Panera Cares Community Breadbox™ Program which gives customers the opportunity to donate money at the register to support the Food Bank’s efforts to provide nutritious food to southeastern Connecticut residents in need.  The four participating Panera Bread bakery-cafes are owned and operated by Panera Bread franchisee, Howley Bread Group, LTD based in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

“With the need for food assistance at an all time high in the southeastern section of the state, the timing of this donation could not be better,” said Nancy L. Carrington, President & CEO of Connecticut Food Bank.  “As a Feeding America member food bank, we feel fortunate to be the beneficiaries of this new partnership with Panera Bread.  I would like to thank Panera’s customers for giving to the Food Bank through the Panera Cares Community Breadbox™ Program, whether it was a recent gift or one in the future.”

This new partnership is part of Panera Bread’s ongoing effort to combat the problem of hunger in America.  For years, Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group has donated all unsold bread and baked goods each night to local Connecticut food pantries and other organizations that provide hunger relief through its Day-End Dough-Nation™ program.  Collectively, the Panera Bread bakery-cafes across the country donated approximately $100 million worth of retail bread and baked goods in 2012 making the per cafe average annual bread donation approximately $146,000.  With this average in mind, the four Panera Bread/HBG bakery cafes in southeastern Connecticut area provide a total annual food donation of approximately $584,000.

According to a 2012 “Map the Meal Gap” study, nearly 15 percent or 520,350 of Connecticut’s residents are food insecure, and it would take nearly $239 million to meet the needs of the state’s food insecure population, or $15.16 per week for each food insecure person.  These figures are an increase over the previous year’s data which showed a 13.8 percent food insecurity rate.

Feeding America secures and supplies more than 2 billion pounds of nationally donated food and grocery products annually to its network of 200 food banks across the country. Connecticut Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, provides nutritious food to people in need by supplying food products and resources to its more than 650 member agencies (soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and low-income adult and child day programs) and by promoting public awareness about the problem of hunger.  The Food Bank is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 that is now the largest centralized source of charitable food assistance in Connecticut.  It distributes an average of 36 tons of food every business day through three warehouses in East Haven, Fairfield and Waterbury and affiliated distribution centers in New London and Stamford.

All Panera Bread locations are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and offer a variety of menu items, including breads and bagels, breakfast sandwiches, creative lunch and dinner sandwiches, pastas, hand-tossed salads, homemade soups and a variety of espresso beverages. Panera Bread Catering also caters and delivers its full menu for any occasion at the office or home.  The breakfast, lunch and dinner assortment is sure to impress every time.  For a Panera Bread Catering menu and more, please visit the cafe or www.paneracatering.com.

Howley Bread Group, LTD based in Cumberland, Rhode Island is one of Panera Bread’s top franchises in the country.  The franchisee owns and operates a total of twenty-six bakery-cafes in Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts and Greater Hartford/Eastern Connecticut markets.  For more information, please contact wendy.kopp@panerabread.com or visit the company’s web site at www.panerabreadhbg.com.  Also, like HBG on Facebook at /howleybreadgroup and follow the company on Twitter @panerabreadhbg to hear about upcoming new and returning menu items, community involvement and events, employment opportunities, their Panera culture and much more!