Panera Breads’ 78k Donation to Island Harvest Will Help Fight Food Insecurity and Food Waste on Long Island

On Monday, the Doherty-owned Panera Bread locations on Long Island presented Island Harvest Food Bank, Long Island’s largest hunger-relief organization, with a check donation for $78,200. The funds will help the Food Bank fight hunger and reduce food waste on the Island. The event took place at Panera’s Long Island City cafe.

“Food insecurity is everywhere, even here on Long Island,” said Greg George, Doherty Enterprise’s Panera Bread VP of Operations. “And it’s being exacerbated by inflation and rising gas prices. That’s why we continue to support Island Harvest Food Bank and their many initiatives to deliver Long Island families from hunger.”

There are an estimated half-million families suffering from food insecurity on Long Island, with that number expected to rise as the cost of food spirals upwards. Island Harvest alone serves 300,000 Long Islanders through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans, and others at risk of food insecurity.

“Our programs wouldn’t have the same impact without the help of generous partners such as Panera Bread,” said Randi Shubin Dresner, president & CEO Island Harvest Food Bank. “Their in-kind donations of unsold bread every week keep food out of the landfill and put it onto the tables of grateful families. This additional cash donation will help keep our programs funded at a time when they are needed the most.”

In addition to surplus bread and check donations, Doherty-owned Panera Breads host several food drives throughout the year so their customers can help fight food insecurity at the local level.

To learn more about Doherty-Owned Panera Breads visit:  https://www.dohertyinc.com/panera-bread.html

About Island Harvest Food Bank:

Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans, and others at risk of food insecurity. As a result of Island Harvest Food Bank’s dynamic business model, more than 94 percent of expended resources go directly to programs and services that support Long Islanders facing hunger. Island Harvest Food Bank is a lead agency in the region’s emergency response preparedness for food and product distribution and is a member of Feeding America®, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization. Island Harvest Food Bank has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for five years, a leading independent charity watchdog organization. Island Harvest Food Bank is among a small percentage of the organizations rated by Charity Navigator to merit the four-star designation. More information about Island Harvest Food Bank is at www.islandharvest.org.

About Panera Bread:

Over 30 years ago, at a time when quick service meant low quality, Panera set out to challenge this expectation. We believed that food that was good and that you could feel good about, served in a warm and welcoming environment by people who cared, could bring out the best in all of us. To us, that is food as it should be and that is why we exist.

So, we began with a simple commitment: to bake bread fresh every day in our bakery-cafes. No short cuts, just bakers with simple ingredients and hot ovens. Each night, any unsold bread and baked goods were shared with neighbors in need.

About Doherty Enterprises, Inc.

Established in 1985, Doherty Enterprises owns and operates more than 160 restaurants in New Jersey, New York, Florida and Georgia, including five restaurant concepts: Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, Panera Bread, Chevys Fresh Mex and its own concepts, The Shannon Rose Irish Pub and Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas. In addition, Doherty Enterprises is also a franchisee of Sola Salon Studios with 13 locations in Staten Island and New Jersey.

Doherty Enterprises is ranked 25th in Top 200 Franchisees in the United States by Restaurant Finance Monitor, is recognized as the 77th largest Foodservice revenue company in the United States by Nation’s Restaurant News, the 73rd largest privately held business in the New York Metro area by Crain’s Business, and 34th largest privately held company in New Jersey by NJBIZ.

The Doherty vision is to be the “Best Food Service Company in the Communities We Serve” and its mission is to “Wow Every Guest Every Time, Wow our People, Wow Our Communities and Wow Our Suppliers.” Doherty Enterprises has also been lending a helping hand to team members and their immediate families when financially burdened through the WOW a Friend Foundation. To date, the foundation has assisted more than 4,00 people and donated over $5.3 million directly back to those in need. (www.DohertyInc.com).