Our monthly summary of how you can make the most of your Whole Grains Council membership.

WGC November 2016 Member Newsletter
Dear Oldways Whole Grains Council members,

We so enjoyed talking with many of you last month at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, held this year in Boston - our own backyard. The conversations we have with members at events like FNCE often teach us about exciting projects and initiatives that you, our members, are pioneering. 

We want to hear more about the great things you are doing in the world of whole grains! Don't be shy if you've got a newsworthy whole grain project or event under way - reach out and tell us about it. And in case you missed them, here are a few of our recent blog posts that came out of discussions with members: 
New WGC Benefit: Get Recognized for Local Ingredients with Localize    

Do you make it a point to use locally-grown ingredients in your products? Is your company a small, family-run business? Good news: the Oldways Whole Grains Council has partnered with Localize to draw customers' (and grocers') attention to your products.

Localize works to share your story with consumers, and helps grocery stores find your products. Registering your Localize profile will let you engage directly with grocery buyers to make sales and sourcing easier for both sides. The online platform lets grocery stores search for your products based on characteristics such as "100% Whole Grain" and "USDA Organic" - helping them find exactly what they are looking for - you! Simply follow this link to learn more about this new WGC member benefit and register your profile. It's easy!
New Portuguese Stamp Usage Guide    
 
We are delighted to announce that our Stamp Usage Guide has now been translated into Portuguese. The Whole Grain Stamp has seen a huge amount of growth internationally over the past few years and is now on products in 55 countries around the world! In fact, more than 22% of all Stamped products can be found outside the United States. Brazil now has the most Stamped products of any country outside North America, so making the Stamp Usage Guide available in Portuguese was a no-brainer! If your company sells products in Brazil, make sure your colleagues there are using the Stamp on qualifying and approved products. 
Caroline's Tip: Help Us Put Our New 50%+ Checkmark on Your Products

Consumers want to know when products are made primarily with whole grains - so they're showing a lot of interest in the new 50%+ checkmark displayed on our Stamped Products page. We'd like to help you make sure that your qualifying products get this coveted checkmark, showing at least 50% of the grain in the product is Whole Grain. For the last year, we've required a Total Grains amount on our Product Registration Forms so that we can perform the checkmark calculation, but qualifying products registered before May 2015 need to be updated with a Total Grains amount in order to display the checkmark.

If we've already sent you a product spreadsheet to update, please fill it out and send it back to us so that we can update our database. And if we haven't reached out to you yet and you think you have products that need updates, email caroline@oldwayspt.org and she will send you a copy of your current product spreadsheet. We don't want your company to miss out on this opportunity to get all the credit you deserve for your great whole grain products!
Participate in Whole Grain Sampling Day March 29, 2017

For Whole Grain Sampling Day, we're connecting our Oldways network of more than 200 supermarket RDs with manufacturers who are willing to donate whole grain products for the March 29, 2017 sampling event. Supermarket RDs tell us they plan in-store promotions 4 months in advance, so if you're interested in participating or learning more, contact Kelly Toups ( kelly@oldwayspt.org, 617-896-4884) by December 15. While we can't guarantee which products our Supermarket RDs will choose to sample, we urge everyone interested to contact us ASAP.

What else can you do? There are lots of other ways for food manufacturers to get involved in Whole Grain Sampling Day by offering discounts and coupons, by doing product giveaways, and by planning special events - check out our top ideas for manufacturers here!
Become a Sponsor Partner For Our Supermarket Dietitian Symposium
 
The Oldways 2017 Supermarket Dietitian Symposium will take place March 19-21 in Scottsdale, Arizona and we're seeking sponsor partners whose products help consumers add more whole grains to their diets, increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduce consumption of red and processed meats, and support sustainability. If you'd like to learn how your company can take advantage of this unique opportunity to network, strategize, collaborate, and share best practices with retail health leaders from the top supermarket chains in the U.S. and Canada, please contact Georgia Orcutt (gorcutt@oldwayspt.org, 617-896-4861).
Caroline Sluyter
Stamp Program Manager

Kelly Toups, MLA, RD, LDN
Program Director
kelly@oldwayspt.org 

Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies

... and from all of the Oldways and Whole Grains Council staff
Oldways is a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization inspiring good health through cultural food traditions and lifestyles. The Oldways Whole Grains Council is only one of our many successful programs. Check out our website to learn more
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