The Panera Bread Bakers-in-Training program, first introduced to St. Louis bakery-cafes in 2011, is now available at select Los Angeles locations. Designed for children ages 5–12, the program teaches the fundamentals of baking at Panera in a fun group setting that makes the craft of baking accessible to young children.
At the start of each 90-minute session, the little bakers are outfitted with their own baker’s hat and apron before being led on a behind-the-scenes tour of the bakery-cafe. As part of the class baking demonstration, children work hands-on to shape and score French baguettes, and decorate a cookie.
The Los Angeles curriculum is also designed to facilitate discussion of childhood hunger, how it affects the community and how to help. To connect the class with the issue, each little baker makes two baguettes: one to take home and one that is donated to a local hunger relief organization through the bakery-cafe’s Day-End Dough-Nation™ program. Additionally, $5 of every $20 registration fee is donated to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign to further its mission to end child hunger in America. Panera has worked to help combat the problem of hunger for over 25 years, since the company first began donating unsold bread and baked goods to local organizations.
Los Angeles Bakers in Training classes cost $20 per child and are available week day afternoons at the following Panera Bread locations for groups of 10 to 15:
8700 Washington Boulevard, Pico Rivera
15620 East Whittwood Lane, Whittier
15224 Rosecrans Avenue, La Mirada
135A Lakewood Center, Lakewood
3521 East Foothill Boulevard, East Pasadena
17501 Colima Road, City of Industry
990 Town Center, La Canada
21627 Valley Boulevard, Walnut
For more information and to sign up for the Bakers-in-Training program, please visit: www.panerabread.com/bitkids.
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