ARLINGTON, VA -- More than two centuries ago, an adventurer named John Chapman began planting apple trees in our young nation. Legend has it that this pioneer, known as "Johnny Appleseed," wanted to introduce Americans to the apples he so loved and the cider you could make from them.
In a nod to this legend, USA Rice is using Johnny Appleseed Day, September 26, to kick off the second Think Rice Road Trip.
Like Johnny before them, the USA Rice team wants Americans to appreciate a delicious and nutritious U.S.-grown commodity and eat more U.S.-grown rice. So, they are hitting the road in a 2019 Ford F-150 festooned with rice images and messages, and to make it easier for consumers to eat more rice, giving away Aroma rice cookers and U.S.-grown rice being generously donated by members of the USA Rice Millers Association!
"Rice is a staple for most of the world's population and even though it is very popular in the United States, we think Americans can, and should, eat more U.S.-grown rice," said Cameron Jacobs, manager of domestic promotion for USA Rice. "This road trip is going to remind people that rice goes with virtually every type of cuisine and to kick start their creativity, we're giving away 3,000 Aroma rice cookers and one- and two-pound bags of U.S.-grown rice! It's not the only way to cook rice, but it does make it pretty easy!"
The first leg of the trip starts in Delaware with the team setting up at the Westside Farmers Market in Wilmington from 3pm-6pm. On Friday, September 27, the truck will start the day making a donation at Wilmington’s Ministry of Caring food pantry before heading to the Glasgow Farmers Market in Newark from 4pm-6pm. On Saturday, September 28, you will find the Think Rice truck at the Milford Farmers Market from 9am-10am, and then at the Southern Delaware Wine and Music Festival in Millsboro from noon until 4pm. Everyone who comes in contact with the truck team will leave with rice facts, cooking tips, recipes, a brand new Aroma rice cooker, U.S.-grown rice, and more!
Subsequent legs will take the Think Rice truck through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, before ending up back in rice country in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the 2019 USA Rice Outlook Conference in December.
As was the case last year, the team is also selling raffle tickets for a chance to win the truck once the tour is over. Tickets can be purchased
here.