Panera, the popular restaurant chain, has announced the launch of Panera Grocery, a way for the company to leverage its pantry items like milk, bread and fresh produce as well as its soups, salads and sandwiches to give people in need of food another way of getting it. These items can be purchased on the Panera app and its website, and is available with contactless delivery, Rapid Pick-up, Drive-up and Drive-Thru and GrubHub.
"From limited choices on grocery shelves to the growing need to limit the number of trips outside of the home, it is an incredibly stressful time when it comes to putting wholesome food on the table, and we knew Panera could help," said Niren Chaudhary in a press release, Panera CEO. "With this new service we can help deliver good food and fresh ingredients from our pantry to yours, helping provide better access to essential items that are increasingly harder to come by."
The way to select this method of ordering is by going to Panera Grocery in the Panera app or website or go to the Panera Grocery option on GrubHub and add the items to your order. The Panera Grocery orders will also be used as a visit toward future MyPanera rewards for those who are MyPanera members. Items that are available to order from the Panera Grocery service are as follows:
- Fresh baked breads and bagels: Classic White Loaf, Whole Grain Pan Loaf, French Baguette and Bagel Packs
- Milk and Dairy: Skim and 2 percent Milk gallons, Greek Yogurt, Yogurt Tubes and Plain Cream Cheese
- Fresh Produce: Apples, Avocados, Blueberries, Red Grapes and Tomatoes
Panera Bread has taken multiple precautions to make sure staff and customers are safe during the virus. Panera has initiated a more thorough cleaning procedure, made sure to limit the contact between customer and employee to a minimum and extended the MyPanera Rewards expiration dates on all rewards earned.
Panera is providing for its employees as well by putting an emergency sick leave policy in place to make sure they are able to stay home if they have symptoms or have contracted the virus. The company is also giving associates multiple free resources like mental health resources, legal guidance, career coaching or financial planning as well as having all support center and field associates work remotely until at the earliest May 1, 2020.