USA Rice Celebrates Thousands Serving Billions of School Lunches

ATLANTA, GA — More than five billion lunches are served each year in U.S. schools and nearly 6,000 of the men and women responsible for those nutritious meals gathered here this week for the School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) Annual National Conference.   As U.S.-grown rice is a staple on those lunch menus, so too is USA Rice a staple at the conference with a popular interactive booth where staff celebrates the nation’s dedicated school foodservice providers and distributes rice information, recipes, and prizes.

Conference-goers crowded around the booth to spin USA Rice’s famous prize wheel and test their knowledge on everything U.S. rice.  Every contestant walked away with USA Rice prizes and information about the many benefits that rice brings to the lunchroom.  Attendees also picked up packets of kid-friendly rice recipes that included last year’s recipe contest winner, the Greek Rice Bowl, new cafeteria posters, and a Rice 101 Cooking Guide with rice preparation information for different types of cooking equipment typically found in schools.  

Following the success of last year’s recipe contest, USA Rice partnered with the Cranberry Marketing Committee to host a joint cranberry-rice recipe contest during the tradeshow.  Hundreds of attendees entered the contest for a chance to win a cash prize and serve as a consultant during the development of their winning recipe.  

“We are really excited about the level of interest and engagement our booth received from attendees again this year,” said Katie Maher, USA Rice’s director of domestic promotion who served as a Quizmaster at the booth.  “The prize wheel and recipe contest components helped attract attendees to our booth and encouraged them to think of rice as a versatile ingredient that can be paired with many other nutritious foods.”  

In addition to exhibiting at the show, USA Rice staff met with key school nutrition influencers from Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia to discuss new opportunities for incorporating rice onto school menus and to learn how USA Rice can continue providing useful resources to schools.

“It’s crucial for us to take time to make these connections with people who are responsible for menu planning and food purchasing decisions,” said Maher.  “These meetings allow us the opportunity to hear from school districts on what they need, share USA Rice’s resources with them, and to reiterate our message that rice is a central component of a healthy, well-balanced diet in school lunchrooms and at home.”