Highlights from Our 5th Annual Whole Grain Sampling Day [1]
Every big bash needs a stellar closing act, and National Nutrition Month (celebrated each March) is no exception. To wrap up the food-themed festivities, we hosted the Fifth Annual Whole Grain Sampling Day [2] on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, to get people everywhere excited to try more whole grains.
At over 70 grocery stores across the US and Canada [3], supermarket dietitians joined forces and tantalized shoppers with tasty whole grain samples, encouraging their customers to branch out from the basics and try new whole grain products. Nearly a dozen leading whole grain manufacturers, (including Bob’s Red Mill [4], Hodgson Mills [5], and Lundberg Farms [6]) also amped up the excitement, by offering generous product giveaways [2] on social media. Similarly, national restaurant chains, like Maggiano’s [7], Corner Bakery Café [8], and California Pizza Kitchen [9], took to Twitter to nudge customers towards their whole grain offerings. In fact, thanks to all of the media buzz [10] during our Twitter Party, the #SampleWholeGrains hashtag reached over 2 million accounts at its height.
On our home turf, here in Boston, there was an especially impressive surge of whole grain celebrations. Locals got a sneak peek of the festivities during our @OnlyInBos Snapchat takeover (check it out here [4]). Au Bon Pain delighted us with samples of their new multigrain baguette [11] (top photo), while popular farm to table restaurant Mei Mei offered up special whole grain menu items [12] at their Fort Point and Audubon Circle locations.
At Harvard University, Dr. Frank Hu (a member of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee) gave a special lecture on whole grains and health, accompanied by whole grain samples [13] from Harvard’s dining halls. Other universities and schools across the country celebrated with special whole grain menu items and events, including Boston University [14], Eastern Washington University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
No matter where you live, Whole Grain Sampling Day is the perfect day to jumpstart your journey to health, and try a tantalizing new whole grain option. That said, there’s no need to take this delicious food group for granted the other 364 days a year. We hope that this celebration proved to be an inspiration to sample new whole grains all year long! (Kelly)
Photos, top to bottom:
Au Bon Pain, ShopRite, Boston University, Eastern Washington University