Panera Bread is celebrating 10 years of fighting breast cancer by baking bagels. This October, the signature Pink Ribbon Bagel will be sold at all of Panera’s bakery-cafes, with a portion of proceeds from bagels sold going to a variety of breast cancer causes throughout the country. A staple each October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, donations from the sale of the Pink Ribbon Bagel have raised more than $1 million for breast cancer charities. Panera Bread and its franchisees hope to make 2011 the largest year for donations ever.
“The Pink Ribbon Bagel is an iconic Panera offering that allows us to join forces with our customers to support the fight against breast cancer,” said Bill Moreton, Panera’s CEO and President. “Panera Bread is proud to work with the communities we serve to help raise money for such a worthy cause.”
Shaped in the form of the iconic pink ribbon, these bagels feature cherry chips, dried cherries and cranberries, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar, and are baked fresh early each morning by Panera’s bakers at each bakery-cafe. For each bagel sold, a portion of proceeds will be donated to support breast cancer awareness and research. Nearly two million Pink Ribbon Bagels were sold in 2010.
This year, Panera Bread is making it even easier to help fight breast cancer locally with the Power of Pink Baker’s Dozen. Throughout the month of October at participating bakery-cafes, one dollar from any baker’s dozen of bagels sold will be donated to a local breast cancer organization.
From October 1 through October 31, 2011, individuals can further help the cause by visiting the Panera Bread Facebook page (www.facebook.com/panerabread) and clicking the “Like” button for the Panera Bread Virtual Pink Ribbon Bagel. Each time the bagel is “liked,” 10 cents (up to $25,000) will be donated to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and its mission to move breast cancer beyond a cure.
The Pink Ribbon Bagel concept began in 2001 when Sue Stees, franchise co-owner of 18 Panera Bread bakery-cafes and a breast cancer survivor, began searching for ways to help other women fighting the same disease. Her search led her to the kitchen where she developed the Pink Ribbon Bagel. She sold 27,000 bagels in her bakery-cafes that first year and was awarded the “You Can Make a Difference Award” from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. To date, more than seven million Pink Ribbon Bagels have been sold.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this simple bagel concept would grow to where it is today, educating the community on breast cancer and inspiring those who are fighting this disease,” Stees said. “I’m extremely blessed to have survived to see the Pink Ribbon Bagel make such an impact over the last 10 years.”