Eleven Panera Bakery-Cafes In Greater Hartford Area Donate $2,093 To Feeding America Partner, Foodshare

November 21, 2013 — Through Panera Bread’s new partnership with Feeding America®, all eleven of its bakery-cafes in the greater Hartford, Connecticut area (Bristol, Buckland Hills, Canton, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, Newington, West Hartford and Wethersfield) announce their first donation of $2,093 to Foodshare, a Feeding America® member food bank based in Bloomfield, 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 greater Hartford residents in need.  The eleven 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 state, the timing of this donation could not be better,” said Gloria McAdam, President & CEO of Foodshare..  “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 Foodshare 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 eleven Panera Bread/HBG bakery cafes in the greater Hartford area provide a total annual food donation of approximately $1,606,000.

According to a 2012 “Map the Meal Gap” study, nearly 14 percent or 493,020 of Connecticut’s residents are food insecure, and it would take nearly $232 million to meet the needs of the state’s food insecure population, or $16 per week for each food insecure person.  These figures are an increase over the previous year’s data which showed a 12.3 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. Foodshare, a member of Feeding America, engages the greater Hartford region which consists of all 42 towns of Hartford and Tolland Counties for the purpose of distributing food and increasing self-sufficiency.  As Central Connecticut’s regional food bank, Foodshare is the liaison between the food industry and nearly 300 partner programs, including soup kitchens, emergency shelters and food pantries across the region.  As Foodshare receives food donations from wholesalers and private individuals, these partner programs receive food from Foodshare to help hungry individuals and families in their respective areas.  By working closely with businesses, schools, faith groups and government agencies, Foodshare also seeks to increase awareness of hunger within its coverage area.  Foodshare distributes enough food to provide more than 11 million meals annually to 128,000 hungry neighbors, including 50,000 children and 10,000 seniors.

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!