Whole Grain Challenge Winners Named 2011

Educational nonprofit Oldways and the Whole Grains Council have announced the winners of the 5th annual Whole Grains Challenge, an initiative that encourages dining and foodservice outlets to come up with original, creative and compelling ways to promote whole grain awareness and enjoyment.

The winners in the onsite foodservice categories included Syracuse University (College/University), Osseo School District of Maple Grove MN (Public K-12), Winsor School of Boston (Private K-12) and Eurest Dining (Workplace). In addition, St. Peter’s Hospital of Helena, MT, and Westlake Medical Center of Austin, TX, tied for the award in the Healthcare category while previous K-12 Private School winner Park School was recognized with an Honorable Mention in this year's competition for its continued efforts to promote whole grains.

“Each year the Whole Grains Challenge continues to grow in size and ingenuity," says Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies for the Whole Grains Council and Oldways. "We were mightily impressed by the exemplary efforts from so many of this year’s entries. Not only did we receive a record number of submissions but the programs and recipes developed to increase whole grain consumption are inspiring, delicious and nutritious!”

Winners were chosen based on creative whole grain menu offerings and innovative promotional efforts throughout the month of October. This year, an added requirement was to submit a favorite foodservice-scale whole grain recipe which will be used to create a Best of the Whole Grains Challenge Recipe Packet (to be available in January) to help other foodservice operations increase their whole grain offerings.

Foodservice operations interested in the 2012 competition should go to http://wholegrainscouncil.org/get-involved/whole-grains-challenge