AROUND TOWN: Panera customers donate 88,000 meals

Customers probably don’t give a second thought to the pennies, nickels and dimes they drop into the donation boxes beside the cash registers at Panera Bread.

Who would have guessed that the change left behind at the five Colorado Springs locations added up to a mighty $11,000 for Care and Share Food Bank?

Missy Robinson, senior marketing director for Panera Bread Colorado, visited the food bank Wednesday and learned that Operation Dough-Nation will provide 88,000 local meals.

Altogether in 2012 Panera Bread donated $164,000 to various Colorado charities as well as $1.65 million dollars in product donations as part of its Day End Giving program.

Also on Wednesday, the food bank unveiled a colorful new Community Kitchen mural by artist Harriet Lee that includes the names of Community Kitchen donors.