Here in Boston, one of the most popular modes of transportation is the Boston Duck Boat Tours. On a typical day, these all-terrain vehicles take tourists through the city (and into the Charles River!) to see the city’s great landmarks. But last Wednesday, on Whole Grain Sampling Day, one of the duck boats served a different purpose. It took the WGC team and volunteers all around town to dish out whole grain goodies in celebration of Whole Grain Sampling Day.

Bright and early at 7:30 a.m., we got right to work, hanging the banners on the duck and loading up all the boxes of sample-sized products from WGC Members. Isn’t it nice they sent us a duck that coordinated with the Whole Grain Stamp colors?

On the left, Oldways and WGC Team Members Abby Sloan, Mallory Cushman and Karen Mansur – all very excited for the big day! On the right, you can see how we busily packed up our totes with a variety of whole grain goodies.

This is just part of the amazing variety of products WGC Members donated for the distribution.   We had everything from cookies and crackers to pasta and rice mixes.  There’s too many to list here, but read about our partners here.  Having a variety of goodies meant we could offer sweet or savory or cooking products to the people we met. Who doesn’t love having a choice? The range of samples also worked as a perfect conversation starter.

At one stop, we ran into a group of chorus singers from Washington. And guess what? They loved all the nutritious snacks and in appreciation, gave us a “hip-hip-hooray” for whole grains!

We even stopped by Mayor Menino’s office to deliver samples to his staff. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but Mallory is holding up the proclamation that Menino signed for us, declaring April 3, 2013 officially Whole Grain Sampling Day in Boston.

The temperatures in Boston were cold that day, but the reception from the people of Boston was very warm. At the end of the day, we had shared more than 5,000 samples throughout the city. Yes, it was a great success!!

Our local extravaganza was just a small part of what was going on across the country, including grocery store samplings, school events, tastings a workplace cafeterias and more. Check out our Whole Grain Sampling Day page to learn about other events that took place on April 3.  (Karen)