Visit Panera Bread This Week To Help Fight Childhood Hunger In Oklahoma

Panera Bread is partnering with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to fight childhood hunger.

According to the company, from June 22 through June 26, Panera guests can support the Regional Food Bank's Food for Kids programs by eating at Panera Bread and presenting the donation flyer from regionalfoodbank.org/Panera.

Guests can print and bring the flyer with them, or show it on their mobile device. For every flyer presented to the cashier, Panera Bread will donate 10 percent of proceeds to the Regional Food Bank's Food for Kids programs. Every $200 raised will ensure that a child has enough to eat over the summer – and throughout the school year.

“We had a child come in who told me that he didn't eat anything the day before,” shared a Summer Feeding coordinator. No child should have to go without food. It was huge to provide food to that child so he could have the nourishment he needed.”

Last year, the Regional Food Bank provided the equivalent of 2.7 million meals to chronically hungry children through its Food for Kids childhood hunger programs: the Backpack Program, Kids Cafe, Summer Feeding, and School Pantries.

• Summer Feeding provides complimentary breakfast and/or lunch to children 18 and younger in low income areas. This year, the Regional Food Bank is working with more than 90 sites across central and western Oklahoma to ensure that children have enough to eat this summer. For more information visit regionalfoodbank.org or call (405)-972-1111.
• Through the Backpack Program, children receive a backpack full of kid-friendly, non-perishable and nutritious food on Friday to sustain them over weekends and school holidays.
• The School Pantry Program provides chronically hungry middle and high school students with food to sustain them after school and over the weekends.
• Kids Cafe and Snack Sites, an afterschool and summer program provides food, mentoring, tutoring, and a variety of other activities to at-risk children at 25 sites in central and western Oklahoma.