Whole Grains Month 2023 wrapped up with a bang thanks to all of your support and engagement. Our Whole Grains Council Instagram account reached more than 3500 consumers in September as we spread the word about whole grains with your help.

Thank you SO much to all the Whole Grains Council member companies who supported Whole Grains Month by making generous donations. With their donations, we were able to give away 102 prizes to 38 winners who took part in our Whole Grain Bingo contest.

Would you like supermarket RDs and university dining halls to serve and sample your products in March? As part of our Whole Day for Whole Grain festivities, we offer a matchmaking service to connect manufacturers wanting to donate product with a wide network of RDs, foodservice operators, and community center organizers hosting whole grain sampling events. 

Sign up by Friday, December 15 if you’d like the opportunity to have your product sampled, or email us for more information. 

In this session, Dr. Juliana Cohen, Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, will discuss her research looking at whole grain acceptability in the school lunchroom and share why school lunches offer such an ideal opportunity for exposing kids to whole grains.

Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN, The Plant-Powered Dietitian will then speak about the nutrition benefits of whole grains in children’s diets and what the recommendations are for different age groups, as well as sharing tips for helping kids get excited about whole grains. 

Stone mills are becoming popular in the production of whole grain flours, producing fresh flour in schools, and adding value to products for small farms and artisan bakeries. Our friends at the Northern Crops Institute are launching three new learning opportunities around stone milling:

1. Stone Milling Basics is an on-demand course completed on your own schedule. It’s an introduction for beginners to the mechanics, maintenance, and economics of milling. 
2. The Stone Milling Handbook is available for pre-order and provides a written reference on stone mill use and the results of a study on the quality of flours produced from wheats and ancient grains. 
3. Stone Milling: A Hands-On Experience will provide four days of in person instruction, milling, and baking. 

For more information contact Casey.Peterson@ndsu.edu