Celebrate Whole Grains Month in September

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.

See How We Celebrated in 2024!

Our followers embraced a world of flavor as we embarked on WHOLE GRAINS: THE WORLD TOUR. We took inspiration from whole grain culinary traditions spanning the Mediterranean, the African Diaspora, Latin America, and Asia. We invited folks to follow us on social media to get fresh recipes, cooking tips, and little-known facts about all their favorite whole grains throughout the month.

Whole Grain Passport Challenge

Eat Tasty Food, Learn about Whole Grains, and Enter for a Chance to Win Prizes

Pack your bags and buckle up! Get ready to be transported by your tastebuds. Throughout September, we encouraged people to fill out a Whole Grain Passport and earn a chance to win cookbooks and cash prizes. They participated by following these easy steps:

1. Download your Whole Grain Passport. (And read the contest terms & conditions).

Download the Passport PDF

2. Complete whole grain activities. Each week, we’ll be highlighting a different whole grain culinary tradition. You’ll find whole grain activities written on each stamp on your passport and you’ll mark the ones you finish as you go. You can fill out the passport electronically or you can print it and fill it out by hand. You’ll earn a contest entry for each activity completed, and you’ll earn an extra one for each region of stamp activities you complete (Mediterranean, African, Latin American, or Asian). 

3. Send us your Passport. When you’ve completed all the activities you wish to do, email a saved or scanned copy of your Whole Grain Passport to wholegrainsmonth@oldwayspt.org for a chance to win whole grain goodies! You must email us your passport before 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time on September 30, 2024 in order to be entered into our contest. 

4. Keep enjoying whole grains, and stay tuned! We’ll be in touch via email if you are a randomly-selected winner.

Prizes

In 2024, we randomly selected 6 prize winners who received:

• a $100 cash prize
• a copy of our Whole Grains Around the World menu plan book

Everyone who submitted a Whole Grain Passport received a copy of our Whole Grain Mini Guide via email. This guide was chock full of cooking tips and included three of our favorite easy whole grain recipes. 

Join us for these live Whole Grains Month Events & Discussions

Each week during Whole Grains Month, we hosted interesting conversations with experts to discuss whole grains’ important role in global heritage diets. You can still go back and watch these great events on IG @wholegrains_council.

• WEEK ONE: Mediterranean
  • With Maria Speck at 11:30am ET on Sept 5
• WEEK TWO: African Heritage
  • With Constance Brown-Riggs at noon ET on Sept 12
• WEEK THREE: Latin American Heritage
  • Zoom Webinar with Sylvia Klinger and Rebeca Stevenson at 2pm ET on Sept 17
  • Watch the recording here
• WEEK FOUR: Asian Heritage
  • With Madhu Gadia at noon ET on Sept 27

Take our Whole Grain Personality Quiz

If you were reborn as a grain kernel, which grain would you be? Take our quiz to find out! 

Which Whole Grain Are You?

Expand your whole grain horizons

Eating whole grains is easy (and delicious) and we want to inspire you to choose even more whole grain foods this month. Did you know that the biggest sources of whole grains in the American diet are breads and breakfast cereals? These are among our favorite ways to eat whole grains, too, but why stop there?  This month we’re asking you to step out of your comfort zone and add in other sources of whole grains too: pasta, pilafs, crackers, even soups and smoothies. Go wild! Let us know which new favorites you find. 

It’s in Our Hands | A Whole Grain Song

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

Lyrics

It’s in Our Hands

It has been so, more than we know.

​More Ways to Celebrate:

For General Public

Cook with whole grains!	Study up with printable resources	Watch videos for inspiration and nutrition information
Browse our recipe collection	Learn how to identify whole grain products at the store	Learn the differences between a whole grain and a refined grain

For WGC Member Companies

• Submit whole grain recipes to be shared with WG Month particpants
• 3 easy ways WGC members can participate
• Use our media kit

For Health Professionals

• Spread the goodness of whole grains on social media with our downloadable graphics
• Share our whole grain resources with your patients
• Earn CPEU credit by watching a recorded webinar about whole grains.

For Media

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