Normally I wouldn’t think of coffee as helping babies. But who knew that “free” coffee and breakfast sandwiches could yield so much money for a good cause. On Wednesday, Panera Bread collected more than $11,000 for its charity, Children’s Mercy Neo-Natal Intensive Care Nursery in Kansas City. The St. Joseph restaurant at the Pony Express Plaza was one of the 21 locations in the Kansas City area that participated.

Guests were offered samples of new coffee blends, strawberry granola yogurt parfaits and grilled breakfast sandwiches. As donations were made, the company matched the amounts up to $250.

The hospital nursery received 100 percent of this money, according to a Panera press release. The Kansas City hospital has 60 beds and admitted more than 950 premature infants in 2008.