DAVE’S KILLER BREAD JOINS CRIMINAL BACKGROUND HIRING STUDY

- HARVARD UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS CALL FOR ADDITIONAL PIONEERING PROJECT PARTICIPANTS -

MILWAUKIE, Ore. – July 5, 2017 – Dave’s Killer Bread (DKB) wants to translate its experience hiring people with backgrounds into data that may compel other employers to do the same. The nation’s top-selling organic bread maker has joined the Second Chance Employer Case Study, a joint project of Harvard University’s Professor Devah Pager and the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, comparing the job tenure and performance of employees with criminal backgrounds to that of their coworkers without criminal backgrounds. Researchers are seeking more organizations to participate in the study, the first of its kind for the private sector.

The Second Chance Employer Case Study was launched to fill information gaps about the risks and rewards of employing people with criminal backgrounds. One in four American adults has a criminal record, which often carries a stigma in the job market that results in exclusion from consideration, or job offer withdrawals after background checks. Yet DKB and other Second Chance Employers (employers who hire people with criminal backgrounds) have amassed powerful stories about people who join their organizations as ex-offenders and become dependable, productive employees, many of whom advance into management and leadership roles.

“Second Chance Employers tell us their workers with criminal backgrounds perform as well or better than those who don’t have records,” said Genevieve Martin, executive director of the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, which is co-sponsoring the study. “But right now, we don’t have the data to show the positive impact these employers are experiencing.”

Researchers are currently seeking more study participants – employers from the private sector that can identify people with backgrounds in their workforce – for the study of job tenure and job performance. Throughout the study, the identity of the participating organizations and its workers will be kept strictly confidential. Employers who wish to learn more are encouraged to contact Lesley Nelson, Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation at (503) 335-8077, ext. 372 or lnelson@dkbfoundation.org.

About Dave’s Killer Bread

Feeding consumers’ love of whole grains and rocking the bread aisle comes naturally to Dave’s Killer BreadTM, the best-selling organic sliced bread in the U.S.* The flagship organic bread for Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO), Dave’s Killer Bread pioneered the organic seeded bread category and offers 19 varieties of whole grain organic bakery products with widespread distribution across the U.S. and Canada. All its products are Certified USDA organic and Non-GMO Project Verified. First introduced at Portland Farmers Market in 2005, Dave’s Killer Bread’s deep commitment to the power of second chances is helping transform lives and lead to positive, lasting change for its employee partners, one of three who have a criminal background. Based on the belief that business has the power to create meaningful, lasting change, Dave’s Killer Bread is dedicated to inspiring other businesses to become Second Chance Employers. Learn more at: http://www.daveskillerbread.com/.

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*Source: IRI, report ending 1/29/17