Whole Grains Month runs throughout the month of September, but we’re so excited about this year’s main Whole Grains Council activity that we’re starting our celebration a few weeks early.

Starting today – August 15 – you can enter our “Good Grains for a Good Cause” sweepstakes. It’s simple: All you do is fill out our online entry form, and tell us just a bit about your favorite charity that helps supply food to people. At the end of September, we’ll randomly select one of the qualifying charities to win cases and cases of whole grain foods, donated by nearly two dozen different manufacturers.

Every year in September we encourage everyone, everywhere, to observe Whole Grains Month by trying some new and different whole grains. For most of us, that’s easy and fun: Just go to your local store, look for the Whole Grain Stamp, and enjoy something new. For others, buying groceries of any sort may be a challenge, and shopping may take place at the nearest food bank. 

That’s why we chose our “Good Grains for a Good Cause” sweepstakes as this year’s centerpiece activity for Whole Grains Month. We know that showering one winning charity with whole grains only begins to address the issue of making whole grains available to everyone. Why not pitch in, and donate some whole grain foods at your local food pantry during September?

Many Whole Grains Council member companies regularly do just that; we’ve highlighted some of them on our website. Take a look, and “open the windows” on our main sweepstakes page to learn more about the charities these caring companies support.

Click here to learn more about our Sweepstakes and to enter.

Also to celebrate Whole Grains Month, Oldways and the Whole Grains Council have formed a partnership with an organization called Healthy Dining Finder. Healthy Dining Finder combs through the menus of America’s leading chains and individual restaurants, and highlights the healthier dishes at each one. Check out their website, where you can put in your zip code and learn about better-for-you choices.

As one of the first steps of our partnership, we’ve added links to Healthy Dining Finder’s website on the Chain Restaurants page of the WGC website, to make it easier for visitors to our site to get more information on the choices at restaurants that are in both our database and theirs. Later, we’ll be contributing content about the health benefits of whole grains to Healthy Dining Finder’s website, too.

What are you doing for Whole Grains Month? If you’re new to whole grains, check out the “baby steps” ideas on the Whole Grains Month page of the WGC website. If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool whole grains champion already, share your favorite whole grains with family and friends, and get them excited about delicious, healthy whole grains. (Use some of our recipes for inspiration.)

Use the comments below – or our Facebook page or Twitter – to tell us how you’ll be celebrating Whole Grains Month. We’d love to hear from you, and we’re sure your comments will inspire others! (Cynthia)