Panera Bread in Canton Will Support Reach Out & Read Connecticut on Saturday, April 25

On Saturday, April 25, when customers read the menu at the Panera Bread bakery-café located at The Shoppes at Farmington Valley in Canton, they will be able to make some extra-special choices. For every "You Pick Two®" item purchased that day, Panera will donate $1 to Reach Out & Read Connecticut. Reach Out & Read prepares America's youngest children to succeed in school by partnering with doctors to prescribe books and encourage families to read together. With Panera Bread's popular You Pick Two® menu, customers can select a combination of soup plus salad; salad plus sandwich; pasta plus salad; or flatbread sandwich plus chili - from a selection of half-portion items that add up to tons of delicious combinations.

The Barnes & Noble bookstore in The Shoppes at Farmington Valley is also supporting Reach Out & Read Connecticut on Saturday, April 25 with a Local Author Day featuring appearances by four authors: 11:00 am: Janice Petrie, http://janicepetrie.com; 12:00 pm: Stacy Dekeyser, http://stacydekeyser.com/home.html; 1:00 pm: Jessica Robinson, http://carolinafarmhousekitchen.com/; 2:00 pm: T. Stephens, http://dantescypher.tateauthor.com/.

"The Reach Out & Read program truly makes a difference by engaging parents to prepare their children to achieve their potential in school and beyond - and the kids are just so happy to receive beautiful, colorful books, " said Wendy Kopp, Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group Director of Marketing. "We are grateful to our customers and employees for joining together to enable more local families to participate in the Reach Out & Read program."

The ROAR program serves more than four million children and their families across the nation, with a special emphasis on serving those in low-income communities. ROAR provides books for children in more than 14 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. In Connecticut, there are presently 72 ROAR programs that have distributed more than 78,000 books to 45,000 children.

Panera/Howley Bread Group owns and operates a total of 28 Panera Bread bakery-cafes in Connecticut. Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Over the past 15 years, with their customers' support, Panera/HBG has donated over $7 million in food and funds to local charities within its communities. Panera Bread's mission is to offer high-quality food in an inviting and comfortable environment, while making a difference in the communities it serves. The company carries out its purpose-driven philosophy to "Live Consciously" by participating in charitable events and by donating all unsold bread and baked goods at the end of each day to local hunger-relief agencies and charities through its "Day-End Dough-Nation" program.

For more information, please contact wendy.kopp@panerabread.com or visit the company's web site at www.panerabreadhbg.com. Panera caters and delivers, too; visit www.paneracatering.com for a list of catering cafes.