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Local Voices

Seven Panera Bakery-Cafes In Rhode Island Donate $3,264 To Feeding America Partner, The Rhode Island Community Food Bank

November 20, 2013 — Through Panera Bread’s new partnership with Feeding America®, all seven of its bakery-cafes in Rhode Island (Cranston, East Greenwich, Newport, Providence, Smithfield, Wakefield and Warwick) announce their first donation of $3,264.14 to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, a Feeding America® member food bank based in Providence, Rhode Island.  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 the Rhode Islanders in need.  The seven participating Panera Bread bakery-cafes are owned and operated by Panera Bread franchisee, Howley Bread Group, LTD based in Cumberland, Rhode Island.  Howley Bread Group is opening a Panera Bread in Lincoln in December which will also participate in the Program.

“With the need for food assistance at an all time high in the state, the timing of this donation could not be better,” said Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer, Rhode Island Community 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 Rhode Island 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 seven Panera Bread/HBG bakery cafes in Rhode Island provide a total annual food donation of approximately $1,022,000.

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A USDA report on food insecurity shows that hunger in Rhode Island now affects one out of seven households.  Each month more than 68,000 Rhode Islanders seek food assistance through the Food Bank's network of emergency food programs. Nearly one of every three persons served is a child under the age of 18.  In fact, according to the most recent U.S. Census survey, 21.9% of Rhode Island's children, one out of every five are living in poverty and just under 10,000 Rhode Island seniors, 9.3% of the state’s population, live in poverty.

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. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, is an innovative leader in solving the problem of hunger.  In partnership with its member agencies, as well as government and community leaders, it works to try and ensure that no one in Rhode Island goes hungry. Since 1982, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank has solicited, stored and distributed surplus food and grocery products to qualified member agency programs that serve Rhode Island's hungry.  Last fiscal year, 9.7 million pounds of food were distributed to the community through its network of 238 member agency food programs across Rhode Island.

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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!

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