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Whole Grains Sampling Day March 27 offers food trucks a marketing opportunity

Food trucks are invited to participate in the Oldways Whole Grains National Sampling Day on March 27 to promote whole grain benefits and take advantage of a nationwide marketing initiative.

An amphibious "duck boat" truck in Boston that passed out whole rain samples on a whole grain sampling day.

March 20, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Is your food truck offering whole grains on its menu? If so, the Oldways Whole Grains Council, which promotes whole grains, invites you to participate in its national sampling day on March 27 to help get the word out on whole grain benefits while promoting food trucks to health-conscious customers.

Food trucks offering recipes that include whole grains can join the Whole Grains Sampling Day next Wednesday by offering sampling opportunities supported by a national marketing initiative that also includes restaurants and other foodservice venues. The council is available to brainstorm with food truck staff, provide them with support materials, and help them get attention and publicity for their promotion of whole grains.

Social media initiatives

Food trucks can tag posts about their whole grains with the hashtag, #SampleWholeGrains and can share the Whole Grains Sampling Day logo. Another option is to include a whole grain on the menu for the day — brown rice, quinoa, oats, barley, whole grain pizza crust, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and similar items — and encourage customers to try it.

In 2012 and 2013, the council organized an amphibious truck in Boston that passed out whole rain samples on sampling day.

Caroline Sluyter, program director for the council, discussed the varieties of whole grains used in foodservice today in a recent podcast on QSRWeb, Food Truck Operator's sister publication. Sluyter said there has been an increase in consumer understanding of nutrition benefits, but also of taste benefits.

Sluyter said quinoa is the most popular whole grain in foodservice due its versatility and the fact that cooking shows and travel blogs have created interest in the spherical grain as well. Limited-service foodservice establishments, in particular, are incorporating quinoa in salads and sandwich buns, she said. 

Sluyter said some operators and consumers hesitate to incorporate whole grains into their menus and diets due to the assumption that the grains will take too long to cook. However, she said that many whole grains cook in 20 minutes or less. Some can be cooked in advanced and frozen until needed.

Whole grains also add fiber and protein, Sluyter said, offering a great way to market a dish.

Whole grains become more popular

The whole grain and high-fiber food market in the U.S. is expected to grow at a combined annual growth rate of 6.53 percent from 2017 to 2021, according to research company, Technavio.

While it is not hard to find articles from health experts on the benefits of whole grains, it would be an exaggeration to say that experts have formed a consensus.

Elaine Magee, a registered dietitian who authored a syndicated column, "The Recipe Doctor," for more than a decade, wrote in WebMd that people can reduce their chances of death from many causes by 15 percent by choosing to eat whole grains whenever possible. Industrialization in the later 1800s brought mass refining of grain to extend the shelf-life of food products, Magee wrote. This resulted in a global epidemic of B vitamin deficiencies.

Whole grains digest more slowly than refined grains, Magee wrote, which has beneficial effects for insulin levels and blood sugar. In addition to reducing mortality rates, whole grains also reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer and heart disease, she wrote, and also reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and help control weight. 

Some health professionals, however, believe that the human body does not tolerate grains in general and should be avoided. Prior to the development of agriculture, humans did not have access to grains, according to an article in Natural News. Hence, some believe that the human body has not genetically adapted to a grain-based diet and that those who follow a "paleo diet" are less likely to become sick. The paleo diet usually consists of grass-fed, pasture-raised meat, fish, eggs, roots, vegetables, nuts and fruits.

Photo courtesy of the Oldways Whole Grains Council.

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.