• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Corporate product donations....

Ghostrider 67

Jack Stand Racer #6..and proud of it!
FBBO Gold Member
Local time
5:20 PM
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
28,594
Reaction score
66,721
Location
Salisbury, Vermont
Saw a Panera Bread ad where they tout their stellar reputation of donating $80 million in unsold baked products a year to food banks etc...

WTH?

If I were a Panera Bread CEO I would be firing a whole slew of incompetent ********. MY first question of them would be, " Why the hell are you allowing your people to bake so much more goods than you typically sell in a day?"

Such insanity.
Surely they aren't TELLING them to make such amounts just they CAN donate it? Are they?

Discuss....
 
Nice of them to do that. More effective than giving it to the United Way.

Here's the ad.

https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/food-values/community/day-end-dough-nation.html


Supported Charities, Programs, Services​


  • After school programs
  • Low-income health centers
  • Backpack programs
  • Mental health centers
  • Domestic violence shelters
  • Outreach programs
  • Community free meals
  • People with disabilities
  • Food pantries
  • Recovery services
  • Food rescue agencies
  • Soup kitchens
  • Homeless shelters
  • Veteran services
  • Immigrant/refugee services
  • Transitional homes
  • Low-income elderly housing
  • Youth shelters
 
As I never patronize their establishments, nor eat their doughnuts/pastries, which are some of the worst IMHO, I suppose it is the civil thing to do. I'm with you though Ghost on this...Why so much in the first place? It is nice to see that us Veterans are being included in the list along with Schools and the needy. I guess it all balances out in the end so congrats on your outrageous Tax Write Off!!! cr8crshr/Bill:usflag::usflag::usflag:
 
And yet you would probably complain if you went there an hour before closing and they did not have a full selection. 10% throwaway is figured in to properly run one, and they get rid of it, usually at half price at the end of the day. It is not like selling cars or clothes, or made to order food.
 
I don't go to panera bread anymore. Ever since I got my last, horrible sandwich with their overpriced crap coffee. It only takes one serving of stench to make me avoid a food establishment.
 
I've never been in one. No, I would NOT complain if they didn't have what I wanted. I'm not a child. The 80 million worth only seemed like a very outsized figure and a terrific hit on the company financially. I applaud them for helping those less fortunate but there's a line between helping others and sinking your own ship.
 
How much do you bake for that day's sales? You have to make more than you might sell so you don't run out. They don't carry them over day to day if they don't sell. Now, if they are giving 30% away they should back off on production but whatever they are doing it must be profitable for them or they would all be closing soon.
 
Wonder what the post would have said if the article said "Panera Bread throws out $80M worth of food annually rather than give to food charities"?
 
I can't say I've been to a Panera store/franchise

good they give it to food banks, day old bread is great
fresh is better

It's probably a really smart practice, to do it that way (?)
keep customers coming in at all hrs knowing they get fresh bread
& then donate what's not used to a food/bank or a good charity
& I'm pretty sure it has some sort of 'write-off' value that way too...
(so not for the idiots in DC, to not just waste, in their taxes)

Better to give it to a charity, than the IRS
or the current admin at 1600 Penn. ave
 
You would be surprised how much food is thrown out, most customers expect full showcase at the end of the day, and get nasty and leave negative reviews, if you give them the 2 for one deal at the end they know, and then they will and wait until then, if you call a food bank with a small amount of leftovers they say it is not worth our time, we get truck loads from the grocery stores, unless you want to deliver it to us, employees love doing that after work, if the food bank is open. If you sell it the next day for half price you become a day old store. It is a tough balance but in the end they charge the retail customer more to cover the waste and donations.
 
No kidding.
But they would have no issue if the corporation delivered it wasting time, wear and tear and fuel worth more than the food item. Look at some of the comments already, the corporation gets a tax write off, yes for material and time. Try writing off 10-20% of your production at full retail and let me know how that works out long term with the IRS. What about the highly paid directors of the "non profit" food banks? They are angels, corporations bad?
 
You would be surprised how much food is thrown out, most customers expect full showcase at the end of the day, and get nasty and leave negative reviews, if you give them the 2 for one deal at the end they know, and then they will and wait until then, if you call a food bank with a small amount of leftovers they say it is not worth our time, we get truck loads from the grocery stores, unless you want to deliver it to us, employees love doing that after work, if the food bank is open. If you sell it the next day for half price you become a day old store. It is a tough balance but in the end they charge the retail customer more to cover the waste and donations.
Exactly!
 
Their bread is baked fresh everyday. Which means they have to start mixing ingredients the night before. Letting the bread rise just takes time and there's no way to hurry it. So unless your crystal ball is perfect they have to mix up a projected amount. Then if a school bus stops by you're going to run short. But if there's an event and no one shows up, you've got a lot of extra bread that you have to get rid of because your shelves are full and you have a new batch coming in the morning. I'm sure the cost is built into every overpriced bagel.

I'm not defending. I'm just saying it how it is
 
Good place for high maintenance MILF watching.

Some food is good but be careful as it's easy to get a $18 one slice ham sandwich on wonder.
 
Their bread is baked fresh everyday. Which means they have to start mixing ingredients the night before. Letting the bread rise just takes time and there's no way to hurry it. So unless your crystal ball is perfect they have to mix up a projected amount. Then if a school bus stops by you're going to run short. But if there's an event and no one shows up, you've got a lot of extra bread that you have to get rid of because your shelves are full and you have a new batch coming in the morning. I'm sure the cost is built into every overpriced bagel.

I'm not defending. I'm just saying it how it is
Exactly, the people that don't know how that stuff works are the loudest ones to squawk.
 
I like their broccoli soup in a bread bowl. Otherwise they could close their doors for all I care.
 
A local breakfast/lunch place had a "pay it forward" program. You donate say $20, she'd match it, buy the food, prepare it and bring it to the homeless shelter on Wednesday. There would be lines around the block. One day she was met at the door by the director. Went on for a few years til the director met her one Wednesday saying the program was being stopped due to lawyers expressing concern of food poisoning from prepared food. Canned foods was fine, but freshly made food was not, nor was she allowed to bring the products she bought into their kitchen to cook. The program ended right there.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top