ARLINGTON, VA – Last week, USA Rice held a well-attended training webinar for school nutrition and foodservice professionals that explored how U.S.-grown rice can deliver student-friendly recipes that align with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) school nutrition standards and help manage food costs, while meeting the needs of diverse student bodies.
“Preparing Fresh & Affordable School Meals Using U.S.-Grown Rice,” was hosted in partnership with Healthy School Recipes and featured two USA Rice’s Chef Advisory Board members, Chef Brittany Jones and Chef Juan Pablo Gonzalez. Both are with the Houston Independent School District and led attendees through a step-by-step recipe demonstration of two newly developed rice recipes and offered their personal culinary tips.
The sixty-minute CEU-accredited event had more than 420 registered K-12 foodservice professionals and received an average audience interest rating of 81.1 percent, significantly higher than the industry average rating of 50-60 percent. Participants were receptive to the information, insights, and demonstrations presented, scoring the webinar a 4.1/5 in the post-session evaluation.
Attendees reported that they left the webinar feeling more informed, impressed with the versatility of rice, with many highlighting that Asian and Hispanic-inspired dishes are favorite rice meal offerings for their students at school.
The live cooking demonstrations of
Crispy Rice Rainbow Salad and
Arroz con Fideo were also well received with 85 percent of viewers indicating they plan to try at least one of the recipes showcased during the webinar.
“The response to this webinar shows that school nutrition operators are eager for practical meal ideas that students enjoy and that work within school budgets, while meeting school standards,” says Sam Schneider, a rice miller from Missouri who chairs the USA Rice Nutrition Subcommittee. “There is also a strong interest in culturally relevant rice-based meal options, particularly among students themselves.”