2008 Whole Grains Giveaway
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del.icio.usAs part of our celebration of Whole Grains Month in September 2008, the Whole Grains Council organized the Whole Grains Giveaway. All too often healthy food is seen as an elite privilege for the well-to-do. We wanted to make sure that all socio-economic groups get access to healthy food, including whole grains.
We asked our WGC sponsoring members to donate whole grain products to a worthy charity of their choice during the months of September and October – and they responded with amazing generosity. We hope that some of the charitable partnerships formed during this first-ever Whole Grains Giveaway continued even after the Giveaway concluded.
129.9 tons of whole grain:
Grand Total of Donations
Pledges as of October 31, 2008 totaled 129.9 TONS OF WHOLE GRAINS.
The following companies generously made contributions to the Whole Grains Giveaway. A big thanks to all of them!
| Company | Donation |
| AIB International | Manhattan, Kansas-based AIB regularly donates all whole grain baked goods created in the organization's busy food-lab kitchens to the Flint Hills Breadbasket, a community food network serving the area's underprivileged for more than twenty years. |
| Barrel O’ Fun Snack Food Co. | Based in Perham, MN, Barrel O' Fun gave away their Whole Grain Yellow Round Tortilla Chips to schools all over the country during both September and October. |
| Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods | Milwaukie, OR-based Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods donated oats to Gleanings For The Hungry, a charity based in California that partners with mission organizations in approximately 40 different nations to distribute food to the needy. |
| Caravan Ingredients | Every Tuesday during the month of September, Kansas-based Caravan Ingredients had an in-house Bake Day to celebrate Whole Grains Month. Caravan staff baked, sliced, and wrapped loaves of their whole wheat bread. These loaves were donated to the Meals On Wheels distribution center in Lenexa, KS and were delivered to over 1,000 homebound elderly residents in their multi-city service region. |
| CCF Brands | Arkansas-based consumer food company CCF Brands donated bags of its high fiber Olde Hearth Health Crunch bagels to the Samaritan Community Center (Rogers, AR), Ozarks Food Harvest (A2H Affiliate - Springfield, MO), and Community Food Bank of Eastern Oaklahoma (A2H Affiliate - Tulsa, OK). Employees also volunteered time distributing Olde Hearth Health Crunch bagels through Center City Pantry's mobile food pantry unit and serve bagel pizzas in a local soup kitchen. |
| Chabaso Bakery | During the months of September and October, Chabaso Bakery passed out their Wheat Ciabattas at the New Haven Road Race in New Haven, CT, the American Heart Association's Heart Walk at the Hatch Shell in Boston, MA, the CES (Comprehensive Educational Services) Health Walk at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT, and the Leukemia Association's Light the Night Walk at Lighthouse Park in New Haven, CT. Chabaso Bakery also donated loaves of their Cranberry Pecan bread to the CT Farmland Trust at Topland Farms in Roxbury, CT. Additionally, Chabaso Bakery makes daily donations to the Connecticut Food Bank located in New Haven, CT. |
| Cream of Wheat | Cream of Wheat, makers of one of the nation's leading hot breakfast cereals, donated their delicious Whole Grain Cream of Wheat hot cereal to the Parsippany Troy-Hills Food Pantry in Parsippany, NJ. |
| Dr. Kracker | Dr. Kracker, Dallas-based creator of organic flatbreads, Snacker Krackers, Snack Chips and Snack Flats, idonated one-ounce packages of its savory whole grain crackers to group leaders in Obesity Help, a peer-support community to help those faced with life-threatening morbid obesity. Obesity Help leaders distribute the crackers to educate their members on the value of portion size and whole grains in weight control. |
| Frontier Soups | Frontier Soups worked with a local Waukegan, Illinois soup kitchen to provide over 600 meals of whole grain soup during the month of September. Wheatberry Chili, a chunky vegetable soup with a beautiful blend of wild and brown rices, and a thick and delicious butternut squash and lentil soup will be the three whole grain soups of the month, along with Alphabet soup for kids. |
| Great Harvest Bread Company | Great Harvest Bread Company is made up of more than 210 independently owned and operated bakeries across the nation. In September and October, the bakeries donated fresh whole grain breads like Honey Whole Wheat, Dakota, High-Five Fiber, Nine Grain and others. The recipients varied from bakery to bakery, yet generally include donations to homeless shelters, youth centers, food banks and soup kitchens, nonprofits serving children and families in crisis, faith-based organizations, and local schools. |
| HomeFree | Windham, NH-based HomeFree (formerly known as Gak's Snacks) donated boxes of its allergen-free chocolate chip, brownie chip, and oatmeal cookies to Shepherd's Pantry, a local food pantry serving families in the southern New Hampshire area. HomeFree cookies are peanut-free, tree-nut free, egg-free and dairy-free, so that people with food allergies can enjoy delicious treats with everyone else. |
| Hodgson Mill | Effingham, IL-based Hodgson Mill has donated a large selection of healthy whole grain products to the Illinois Food Bank. Their donated products include Whole Grain Barely Bread mix, Whole Grain Wild Mushroom Couscous, Whole Grain Chicken and Herb Couscous, and Whole Grain Pastas. |
| Indian Harvest Specialtifoods | Indian Harvest donated a variety of whole grains to Schoolcraft Learning Community, a local K-8 charter school in Bemidji, Minnesota. Chef Michael Holleman led workshops with the children on the value of whole grains in a balanced diet, the importance of whole foods, and discussed the idea of heirloom seeds with students in support of their expeditionary learning program on "The World We Want" a rounded look at sustainability in action for ages 5-13. Kid-friendly recipes were the focus of the workshops and a variety of grains were donated to the school to feature on the menu the entire month of September. |
| King Arthur Flour | During the months of September and October 2008, King Arthur Flour taught nearly 3,000 middle school students how to bake with whole grains through its LifeSkills Bread Baking program. The employee-owned company donated whole wheat flour for the students to bake whole wheat loaves, which are then donated to community food pantries. |
| Mary’s Gone Crackers | Mary’s Gone Crackers, based in Gridley, CA, made donations of their Crackers in five flavors (Original, Herb, Onion, Black Pepper, and Caraway) as well as their Sticks & Twigs in three flavors (Sea Salt, Chipotle Tomato, and Curry), to various local camps, support groups, and fund-raising events for celiac disease and other allergy related groups. |
| Mestemacher Bread / Carl Brandt, Inc. | Carl Brandt, Inc., a Fairfield, CT firm noted for fine specialty food imports, was pleased to donate Mestemacher Whole Grain Bread to Operation Hope. Operation Hope provides innovative solutions to homelessness in Fairfield and the surrounding community through housing development, advocacy, education and personalized support services for individuals and families. Mestemacher whole grain bread originates from Germany and is imported by Carl Brandt, Inc. |
| NatureBake / Dave’s Killer Bread | NatureBake / Dave's Killer Bread, located in Milwaukie, OR, regularly donates whole grain bread to St. Vincent De Paul, Oregon Food Bank, Columbia Grange Helping Hands Program, Loaves and Fishes, Golden Harvest, Gresham Seventh Day Adventist Church, St. Mark's Pantry, and other local charities. |
| Our Daily Grain | Our Daily Grain, based in Belmont, CA , donated their 100% natural, all-whole grain porridge to Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, CA for a special breakfast in October. The high school works with it's 95% low-income, minority students reach their full education potential - for the past three years, 100% of their graduates have gained acceptance into four-year universities. |
| Ozery's Pita Break Partnership | Canadian member Pita Break is very happy and proud to provide continued support to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, filling needs as well as tummies with nutritious food. Donated products include bags of Whole Grain Wheat mini pitas, Multigrain large pitas, and cases of Spelt lavash. |
| Riviana Foods | Texas-based Riviana Foods Inc. sent boxes of Minute® Ready to Serve Brown Rice and Minute Brown Rice (14 oz) up north to Michigan State University, Sanilac Extension. The boxes of rice and other materials were to be used in a whole grains education booth during The Rural Education Project (Project RED), sponsored locally by the Michigan Farm Bureau, which provides a full day of agriculture education to over 800 4th graders in the county. |
| Shiloh Farms | Shiloh Farms of New Holland, PA donated loaves of its Organic Sprouted Seven Grain Bread to the Bethesda Mission in Harrisburg, PA. The Bethesda Mission is a 94-year-old cross-denominational organization that provides food, shelter, clothing and counseling to hungry and homeless people in the Harrisburg area. |
| Sunnyland Mills | Fresno-based Sunnyland Mills donated bulgur wheat to the Community Food Bank (an America's Second Harvest affiliate) and contributed volunteer time to teach Community Food Bank employees easy ways to prepare bulgur for delicious and nutritious salads and side dish recipes. |
| Uncle Ben's | Uncle Ben's, in partnership with the Feeding America Kids Cafe program, is proud to support the fight against hunger. In addition to making donations for each Uncle Ben's product purchased during the month of September, Uncle Ben's will make contributions each time consumers download their Family Holiday Entertaining Guide through the end of the 2008. |
| World of Grains | World of Grains donated their whole grain cookies at several events supporting women's health and fitness, as well as education for Boston-area communities on the benefits of whole grains. |
