Panera Bread to present check to nonprofit
Covelli Enterprises, the largest franchisee of Panera Bread, will present a check today, Thursday, Sept. 6, for $5,152.24 to the Out of the Garden Project as a result of the company’s Change Roll Up Program fundraising efforts during the month of June.
The formal check presentation will occur at 10 a.m. at the Panera Bread at 100 Hanes Square Shop Circle in Winston-Salem. Pastries and beverages for attendees will be provided.
The Out of the Garden Project is a food assistance program based in Greensboro for families primarily in Guilford County, but one school in Forsyth County also is assisted.
In addition to in-café fundraising, Panera Bread also supports the Out of the Garden Project with its Day-End Dough-Nation program, through which it donates the leftover bread and baked goods to hunger relief agencies within the communities it serves.
The Out of the Garden Project currently picks up day-end product donations at seven area cafes on six days of the week. Through the program, Panera Bread has donated more than $1.6 million worth of food to Out of the Garden Project since January 2016.
The Out of the Garden Project is the largest food assistance organization in the Triad area, providing meals to more than 1,750 families each week and more than 65 pounds of food each month at 22 fresh mobile markets.
In attendance at the check presentation will be representatives from Panera Bread, the Out of the Garden Project and area community leaders.
This was the first time the Out of the Garden Project was the recipient of funds from the Change Roll Up program. Panera Bread also plans to support Out of the Garden through sponsorship of its upcoming Hearts of Hope event on Sept. 21 with food and beverages for attendees.
Panera Bread prides itself on support for the hungry through its Day-End Dough-Nation program. Each day thousands of pounds of unsold bread and bakery products are donated from Panera cafes to benefit hunger relief agencies, local food pantries, shelters, churches, and volunteer organizations.
In 2017 alone, Covelli Enterprises donated more than $30 million in the form of food for the hungry.
