Betting on U.S. grown brown rice

BOSTON, MA -- The 2015 School Nutrition Association's (SNA) Annual National Conference kicked-off Monday with more than 6,000 school nutrition professionals, industry members, and allied partners coming together to share their passion for child nutrition.  The USA Rice Federation is participating as a conference exhibitor, distributing information about the new K-12 resources available on MenuRice.com as well as promoting the upcoming annual "Healthy Brown Rice on the Menu" contest that takes place each September in honor of National Rice Month.

USA Rice partnered with Chef Cyndie Story, PhD, RD, CC, who has experience working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and in school kitchens, to develop several new K-12 rice recipes that are standardized to make it easy for schools to meet nutrition requirements and increase rice usage on the menu.  The recipes feature detailed preparation instructions, serving size guidance by grade, and nutritionals per serving, all in a convenient downloadable PDF on the K-12 section of MenuRice.com.

"Our first publicity push of the MenuRice.com re-launch is centered around the SNA conference," said John Hasbrook, chairman of the USA Rice Foodservice Subcommittee. "Now that the USDA school meal nutrition requirements are in full swing, we want to emphasize to school foodservice operators that U.S. grown whole grain rice is the perfect menu solution."

Leading up to the conference, USA Rice promoted the new K-12 recipes available on MenuRice.com and encouraged SNA attendees to visit the USA Rice booth through ad placements in the SNA SmartBrief e-newsletter, with a circulation of more than 18,000, and an e-blast to conference attendees.

Visitors at the USA Rice booth are given the new K-12 recipes, rice preparation instructions, and MenuRice.com information.  Attendees also have an opportunity to spin the Rice Wheel to test their knowledge on U.S.-grown rice and win a reusable grocery bag that sports the "Grown in the USA" logo.

These booth activities give USA Rice an opportunity to share powerful messages with this important group on topics ranging from recipes and preparation tips to nutrition and sustainability.

"The prize wheel definitely draws a crowd to the booth and is a great way to interact with people," said Lydia Holmes, the USA Rice intern on hand to help promote U.S.-grown rice. "Many people are surprised about the things they learn at our booth, like how much rice is produced each year by U.S. rice farmers or that rice farming positively contributes to the environment."

Although brown rice shipments to schools have significantly increased over the past four years, it is still important to provide schools with new resources to help continue, and even increase, rice usage on the menu.  The SNA conference allows USA Rice to engage face-to-face with school nutrition professionals and menu planners to discuss their needs, and to encourage them to visit MenuRice.com, "the go-to rice resource with helpful tools and innovative ideas for K-12," added Holmes.

Contact:  Katie Maher, (703) 236-1453

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