Panera Wants to Give Some of You a Free Baguette

Winters can be dreadful. Waking up an hourly early to shovel snow and scrape windshields before your commute to work, only to be welcomed by a pitch dark sky by 5 p.m. can take a toll on anyone. But if free food cheers you up—particularly warm, toasty baguettes—this winter could prove to be a little brighter than you expected. Panera Bread will be giving out free Toasted Baguette sandwiches is some of the coldest U.S. cities from Jan. 17 to Jan. 22 if the temperature hits 32°F or below.

How to get the free Toasted Baguettes

If you live in New York City, Boston, Denver, Washington, D.C., or Chicago, make sure to keep an eye on the weather between Jan. 17 to Jan. 22. Once the temperature drops to 32°F (or below), Panera will drop a code for a free Toasted Baguette sandwich on local digital transit signage and digital billboards, including in Times Square in New York City. If you’re in Chicago, Panera will “be making the promo code drop in the actual snow,” but we’re unclear whether that means promo cards falling from the sky or Panera workers making alpha-numeric snow angels in the snow.

The reason for the occasion (beyond chilly weather) is Panera Bread celebrating the launch of their three new baguette sandwiches: the Green Goddess Caprese Melt, the Pepperoni Mozzarella Melt, and the Smoky Buffalo Chicken Melt. The sandwiches will run for $9.99 each starting on their Jan. 12 launch date, if you can’t wait for the temperature to drop. “Toasting our baguette sandwiches gives the perfect blend of crunchy crust with a pillowy-soft center that makes it easy to take the perfect bite, and we’re excited to offer our guest three delicious flavors to enjoy,” Panera’s Head Chef and Chief Food Innovation Officer Claes Petersson said in a press release.

The fine print

Only the first 200 people from each city to redeem the codes will get the free baguettes. The code must be redeemed in the Panera app and will come in the following format: TOASTUP(city name). The temperature reading will be based on Weather.com’s reading for each city. There is no purchase necessary to claim the codes. Panera will only allow you to claim one sandwich during the six-day promotion window, and the code must be redeemed on the same day by 8 p.m. local time.