2017 Iowa Hunger Directory 2017 Edition | Page 26

Panera Bread of Iowa and its Customers Raise over $30,000 to Alleviate Hunger April 20, 2016 Over the course of 2015, Panera Bread of Iowa and its customers partnered to raise $30,910.40 in cash donations for local Feeding America member food banks across Iowa, who were able to translate these cash donations into more than 123,000 meals for those in need. Panera Bread of Iowa’s 19 bakery-cafes collect change and other cash donations at their registers each day on behalf of the local Feeding America food bank serving the market. Panera Bread of Iowa then provides a 10 percent matching donation on all cash donations made. Additionally, the bakery-cafes host a fundraising drive each September on Hunger Action Day where 20 percent of sales associated with the fundraiser are donated back to the local food bank partners. At the end of the 2015 fiscal year, cash donations in the following amounts were made to these area Feeding America member food banks: $12,793.39 – Food Bank of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa $7,123.44 – River Bend Foodbank, Davenport, Iowa $7,089.07 – HACAP Food Reservoir, Hiawatha, Iowa $3,494.86 – Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Waterloo, Iowa $409.65 – St. Stephen’s Food Bank, Dubuque, Iowa In addition to the annual cash donations, Panera Bread of Iowa donates all of its unsold bread and bakery items each day to more than 85 local hunger relief agencies across Iowa and Illinois through its Day-End Dough-Nation program. For more information about the hunger-relief efforts of Panera Bread of Iowa, please contact Mr. John Kauffman at [email protected] or 319-361-6091. For more information about the Feeding America food banks in Iowa, please contact Mr. Cory Berkenes at [email protected] or 319-290- 5596. Page | 25