Laura Winefordner doesn’t like bagels, but she will purchase one from Panera Bread today.
Winefordner will be buying a pink-ribbon bagel, a cherry vanilla-flavored bagel in the shape of a ribbon, as part of Panera Goes Pink Friday. All proceeds from the bagels, which will cost $1.34, will go to the UF Health Cancer Center to support women’s cancer research.
"I think it’s very intriguing, and I’m glad they went through the trouble," Winefordner said.
Rachel Edwards, the general manager of Panera on Archer Road, said the store ordered 2,000 of the bagels, which aren’t normally sold, for about $1,200.
The store, which sold the most Pink Ribbon Bagels in the Gainesville and Tampa area last year, has been taking pre-orders for a couple of weeks. This is the fifth year Panera has hosted the event.
"(The proceeds go) directly to UF, so a lot of people like that idea because they work there," Edwards said.
Jon Graham, the deputy director of operations at the UF Health Cancer Center, wrote in an email that the center is grateful for the proceeds Panera is collecting.
"We hope everyone will enjoy a Panera bagel on Friday knowing that women’s cancer research will continue with their support," he said.
Aretha Boakye-Donkor, a 20-year-old UF health science major, said she thinks the event is going toward a great cause, particularly breast cancer.
"Breast cancer affects a lot of women, and it affects women indiscriminately regardless of race, class, gender, all of that stuff," she said. "I think that because a lot of people do go to Panera, it’s a great way to get the news out there about breast cancer."
