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Every September, we celebrate the goodness of whole grains! The annual Whole Grains Month campaign brings whole grain recipes, health information, cooking tips, and much more to people around the world.

Whole Grains Month is a great time for everyone to get on the whole grains bandwagon. Eating better is not an all-or-nothing choice. Every little improvement you make in your food helps—all year long.

A Look back At Our 2022 Celebration

We asked contest participants to complete fun, daily whole grain challenges throughout September. To earn chances to win prizes, participants were asked to do things like:

  • Make a whole grain dinner or treat to share with a neighbor or friend
  • Celebrate Taco Tuesday using whole grain tortillas
  • Choose a favorite whole grain ingredient to post about on social media
  • Donate whole grain product to a local food bank or pantry
  • Participate in our Whole Grains Month Photo Contest on social media (#wholegrainsmonth)
  • And much more!

Six winners received a $100 cash prize, a rice cooker donated by USA Rice, and the opportunity to nominate their favorite food-related charity for a chance to receive 100+ cases of whole grain products from our participating Whole Grains Council member companies. The charity that was randomly selected as the winner was Mission Oak Cliff’s Food Pantry in Dallas, TX. You can read more about their organization on our blog. 

Weekly Whole Grain Conversations with Experts

Throughout September we hosted Instagram Live converations @wholegrains_council with cookbook authors, dietitians, journalists, and others!

  • Serena Ball, MS, RD at @tspcurry talked with us about whole grains’ role in sustainability and the Mediterranean diet on Friday, Sept 9 at 1pm ET.
  • Samina Qureshi, RD @antidiet.ibs.dietitian joined us to talk about whole grains for digestive health on Wednesday, Sept 14 at 2pm ET.
  • Elena Gutierrez Byrne @artisangraincollab spoke with us about local grain economies on Wednesday, Sept 21 at noon ET.
  • Alex Aldeborgh, MS, RD at @DaisyBeet discussed whole grain recipes and tips with us Tuesday, Sept 27 at 2pm ET.

We Hosted two Special Webinars:

Expert Tips for Crave-Worthy Food Photography

We eat with our eyes first, so food photos need to be enticing and scroll-stopping with a quick glance in order to break through. In this session, experts will share best practices throughout the entire styling, photographing, and editing process using challenging-to-capture whole grain foods as a case study. Food photographer Kristin Tieg will share tips for food styling, composition and how to use props and lighting to present each dish in its most beautiful form.

Cookbook author and social media expert Sharon Palmer will share her favorite tips, tools, and tricks for photographing food at home, while dining out, or while traveling. Graphic designer Alexis Evangelos will share tips for photo editing, and how the brightness, contrast, shadows, and coloring can be adjusted to optimize each photo using both mobile and desktop tools.

At the end of the session, Caroline Sluyter of the Oldways Whole Grains Council will share how attendees can practice the food photography skills they learned throughout Whole Grains Month in September for a chance to win prizes.

WATCH THE RECORDING

The Secret’s Out: Sorghum is the Sustainable Ancient Grain RDs are Buzzing About

With just three crops providing more than 40% of calories eaten worldwide, registered dietitians have a vital role to play in shifting diets towards sustainable, biodiverse options. Whole grain sorghum has twice as much fiber as brown rice, thrives in climate-challenged regions, and is a staple of cultural food traditions throughout the African Diaspora, and yet this ancient grain is still underutilized in Western diets. In this session, attendees will learn about the nutritional makeup of whole grain sorghum and how it can be used in simple, delicious meals to help prevent and manage diet-related illness. This session will also explore how the biologic makeup of sorghum can help reduce water losses and provide valuable nutrition in hot, dry climates. Thank you to our friends at the United Sorghum Checkoff Program for sponsoring this session!
 

WATCH THE RECORDING

Many thanks to our participating WGC Members For donating A total of 320 cases of Whole grain product to charity at the end of september!

  • Bluebird Grain Farms
  • Canyon Bakehouse
  • Carl Brandt and Mestemacher Bread 
  • Catallia Mexican Foods (Frescados Tortillas)
  • Conifer Foods (Canterbury Naturals)
  • Dave’s Killer Bread
  • Goose Valley Natural Foods
  • Homefree
  • Lotus Foods
  • Lundberg Family Farms
  • Mary’s Gone Crackers
  • Pereg
  • Riviana (Minute/Success Rice)
  • Rockport Flour Mill (Coyote Pancake and Waffle Mix)
  • Sunnyland Mills
  • To Your Health Sprouted Flour Company
  • USA Rice
  • Wasa
It’s in Our Hands | A Whole Grain Song

Watch this new song by Kay Fialkoff, performed by Lisa Stein, all about whole grains and caring for the earth.

Lyrics

It’s in Our Hands

Verse 1
It’s in our hands.
It has been so
for tens of thousands of years.
It has been so, more than we know.
 
Verse 2
It’s in our hands.
It has been so.
We’ve harvested earth’s grains
across the globe.
 
Bridge
The grains sustained us
then and now.
Plant them wisely.
Plant them well.
 
Solo
Rye and millet, barley too.
Oats, sorghum; rice and wheat.
Quinoa, amaranth,
teff and corn.
 
Bridge
The grains sustained us
then and now.
Plant them wisely.
Plant them well.
 
Verse 3 (Repeat Verse 1)
It’s in our hands.
It has been so
for tens of thousands of years.

It has been so, more than we know.

 

 

​More Ways to Celebrate:

For General Public

 

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Cook with whole grains!

 

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Study up with printable resources 

 

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Watch videos for inspiration and nutrition information

 

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Browse our recipe collection

 

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Learn how to identify whole grain products at the store

 

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Learn the differences between a whole grain and a refined grain

For WGC Member Companies

For Health Professionals

For Media

Get the scoop on whole grains. Set up an interview with the Whole Grains Council by emailing media@oldwayspt.org