ARLINGTON, VA – USA Rice is committed to helping students start their school days the “rice” way with a new national school recipe contest designed to promote increased rice usage during breakfast. The contest is designed for school foodservice professionals, operators, and chefs representing grades K-12 and encourages them to submit original breakfast recipes featuring U.S.-grown rice.
“Rice & Shine” aims to inspire increased rice consumption during K-12 breakfast meals with new recipes derived from the contest submissions.
“Rice is routinely underserved and underutilized during breakfast especially in school feeding programs, but it certainly has a role to play in delivering a nutritious start to the school day and driving consumption of other healthy foods,” said Sam Schneider, owner of Inland Cape Rice Company and chair of the USA Rice Nutrition Subcommittee. “This program will help spotlight how rice can be an integral part of a nourishing breakfast, while yielding some incredible school recipes from across the country that others can draw inspiration from.”
The contest launched on March 1 in conjunction with National School Breakfast Week and will remain open for submissions through March 31. Each recipe will be evaluated by members of the USA Rice K-12 Chef Advisory Board with winners to be announced in mid-April.
The points-based scoring system will be based on presentation (including visual appeal and ease of replication), innovation (including creativity and use of ingredients), and suitability for school menus (i.e., aligning with nutrition guidelines and being feasible for large-scale prep).
Promotion of Rice & Shine is in full swing across all USA Rice social media platforms and will continue throughout the month of March. In addition to serving on the panel of judges, members of the K-12 Chef Advisory Board are also assisting in promoting the contest across their own social channels and culinary groups.
"As a member of USA Rice’s Chef Advisory Board, it is an honor to be a judge for the Rice & Shine Recipe Contest,” said Chef Jason Hull. “This competition is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the creativity and dedication of school foodservice professionals who bring delicious, nutritious meals to students daily. I can't wait to see the innovative rice-based recipes that will inspire school kitchens nationwide."
The top three winners will all receive commercial rice cookers. In addition, USA Rice will award the first place contestant a cash prize of $1,000 as well as branded measuring cups and rice paddles. Second place will receive $750, and third place receives $500. Each winning submission will also be featured in the USA Rice K-12 cookbook,
Reimagined Rice Meals for Schools.