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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Panera Bread will select four menu items one day each month beginning Feb. 24, and will donate a set amount per featured item to Ozarks Food Harvest. Cafes in Springfield, Branson and Joplin will participate in donating proceeds.

On the first day of the promotion, Feb. 24, Panera Bread will make a donation when the following items are ordered:

• Mediterranean Egg White Breakfast Sandwich ($1)
• Carrot Cake with Walnut ($1)
• You Pick Two® with Thai Chopped Chicken Salad and Chicken Noodle Soup ($2)
• Whole Mediterranean Salmon Salad ($2)

According to Ozarks Food Harvest, every $1 donated provides six meals to the nearly 180,000 people that are food insecure in the 28 southwest Missouri counties it serves. The funds raised will go to The Food Bank’s Backpack Program which provides nearly 1,000 at-risk children with a backpack filled with nutritious child-friendly foods for them to take home on the weekends, when they might otherwise go hungry.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving more than 300 hunger relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank reaches approximately 80,000 individuals monthly and distributes 12 million pounds of food annually. OFH was named the 2011 Small Business of the Year by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Visit the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief at 2810 N. Cedarbrook Ave. in North Springfield. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org and at facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest.

About Panera Bread
Panera Bread locations in Springfield, Branson and Joplin, Missouri, are part of a locally-owned franchise of 31 bakery-cafes in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas. With its identity rooted in handcrafted, fresh-baked, artisan bread, the company is committed to providing great-tasting, quality food that people can trust. Nearly all of the bakery-cafes have a menu highlighted by antibiotic-free chicken, whole grain bread, and select organic and all natural ingredients, with zero grams of artificial trans fat per serving, which provide flavorful, wholesome offerings. Panera Bread Company routinely donates bread, baked goods and funds to community organizations. For more information, go to panerabread.com.