At Panera Bread®, we believe in giving back to local communities. We show our appreciation for customers not only within our bakery-cafes but also throughout the communities we serve by sponsoring special events open to the neighborhood, participating in charitable events and offering various Operation Dough-Nation® programs.
Operation Dough-Nation Programs
Since our founding, Panera Bread and its franchisees have been active in our communities. Operation Dough-Nation was founded in 1992 to formalize our commitment to community involvement. Since then, it has grown to include four major activities: Community Breadbox™ cash collection boxes, the Day-End Dough-Nation™ program, Panera/SCRIP Card fundraising and participation in community events.
Community Breadbox
The Community Breadbox program ensures that donations made at Panera Bread feed back in to the community. A portion of cash donations made by customers in bakery-cafes may be matched by Panera and its franchisees and distributed to local non-profit organizations. Contributions generated through the program have provided basic necessities for those in need, and have created special places and opportunities. If you would like to contribute to our efforts to assist local non-profit organizations in the communities we serve, please look for the Community Breadbox collection containers at participating Panera Bread or Saint Louis Bread Co.® locations.
Day-End Dough-Nation
At the end of each day, Panera Bread donates all unsold bread and baked goods to local area hunger relief agencies and charities as part of its local Day-End Dough-Nation program. Collectively, Panera bakery-cafes donated a retail value of approximately $100 million worth of unsold bread and baked goods in 2010 to help neighbors in need. Many of these organizations are served by Feeding America, formerly America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
Please Note: We are now accepting online requests only. Please click on the link below if you are interested in submitting a donation request.
Submit a request online for your organization to participate in this program.
SCRIP Fundraising
We are proud to participate in the Scrip fundraising program, helping non-profit organizations raise money. This popular fundraising program invites non-profit organizations to pre-purchase $10 Panera Card® gift cards at a 9% discounted rate and then re-sell the Panera Cards at full price.
For more information, please contact the Great Lakes Scrip Center by phone at (800) 727-4715, or visit their website at www.glscrip.com.
Community Events
We also value corporate citizenship and regularly make in-kind donations to local community events such as silent auctions, runs and walks, trivia nights and raffles.
Please Note: We are now accepting online requests only. Please click on the link below if you are interested in submitting a donation request.
Submit a donation request online for your organization's upcoming event.
