ARLINGTON, VA -- The "Check Out MyPlate Video Contest," co-sponsored by USA Rice and other MyPlate National Strategic Partners, garnered more than one hundred entries from kids around the country in several categories. Nine videos were recognized for awards, and seven-year-old Hamilton Brewer of Winona, Minnesota took first place in the "2 - 10 Age Category" for his video featuring him preparing a brown rice dish he calls "Healthy Stir-Fry."
Hamilton's video starts in the kitchen. "Today I'm going to make a healthy stir fry with vegetables, brown rice, my favorite steak, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and garlic," he says. When he's finished cooking, Hamilton sits at the table with his younger sister to enjoy the meal and then he's off to play outside. "Because I eat healthy, I have a lot of energy to play my favorite sport - soccer!"
"My mom told me it is very hard to get some little kids to eat healthy, and I did it," said Hamilton, referring to his sister enjoying the healthy dish he prepared. "I think I will cook it again," he promises.
Top Chef Hamilton plans to spend some of his $1,000 prize money on a gift for his younger sister as a thank you for being in his video and also treat himself to a new soccer ball. The remaining money will go into a savings account for either college or culinary school.
"The goal of the contest was to get kids thinking about eating healthy using MyPlate, and get moving with their favorite physical activity," said Katie Maher, manager of domestic promotion. "But it did more than that -- this contest empowered young people to take action to lead a healthy lifestyle and encourage their peers to do the same. We were so impressed with the clear understanding of MyPlate and the hard work and creativity that went into each video."
Maher added that participation in MyPlate promotions like this gives USA Rice a larger platform to demonstrate the role of U.S.-grown rice in healthy diets for children and that having such high level of support from MyPlate and Let's Move! is invaluable for rice. You can see Hamilton's full video, and other winners on the MyPlate Video webpage.