Cancer Institute of New Jersey to benefit from Panera Bread's Pink Ribbon Bagel

For more than a decade, "thinking pink" has been a tradition for Panera Bread® bakery-cafés in their effort to highlight breast cancer awareness in their local communities during the month of October. That campaign, which marks National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, continues this year, with the offering of the Pink Ribbon Bagel. Proceeds from the local sale of this unique treat will benefit the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) Foundation for the sixth year in a row. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

CINJ is one of the many breast cancer-related entities nationwide that will receive contributions from the sale of Panera's Pink Ribbon Bagel - which features cherry chips and real bits of Bing cherries and cranberries and is shaped in the form of a traditional breast cancer awareness ribbon. For every Pink Ribbon Bagel sold in the 41 Panera Bread locations in northern and central New Jersey (www.panerabread.com), ten cents will support breast cancer research and patient education programs at CINJ. Over the past six years, more than $40,000 has been raised for CINJ through the effort.

New this year, Panera Bread is making it even easier to help fight breast cancer locally, as on Wednesday, October 10, 100 percent of proceeds from the sale of the Pink Ribbon Bagel in the 41 north and central New Jersey cafés will benefit CINJ.

"As New Jersey's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, it is part of our overall mission to identify new breast cancer treatments, as well as to develop educational opportunities relating to breast cancer prevention. Panera's dedication to this cause helps CINJ achieve these goals, and we are grateful for their continued support," noted CINJ Chief Medical Officer Deborah Toppmeyer, MD, director of both CINJ's Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center and the LIFE Center, and associate professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

"The Pink Ribbon bagel is the one bagel that our customers ask about all year long. They enjoy the taste of the cherry vanilla bagel, but most important -- they enjoy knowing that a portion of the money they spend is going to support such a vital cause," said Panera Director of Operations, Robert MacEachern. "Panera Bread is proud to work with the communities we serve to help raise money for this worthy cause. In our market, we are pleased to support the cutting-edge research and programs of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey."

The Panera Pink Ribbon Bagel was developed in 2001 as a way to support breast cancer awareness.