USA Rice Announces 2008 K-12 Healthy Rice Bowls Contest Winner
Pennsylvania Middle School Foodservice Director Cynthia Dawso Van Druff Wins Big With Students Who Love Rice Bowls.
December 15, 2008 – The USA Rice Federation today announced its annual “Healthy Rice Bowls Contest” winner Cynthia Dawso Van Druff, Foodservice Director for Upper Moreland Middle School in Willow Grove, PA. Her entry included two dishes—Asian Rice Bowls and Fiesta Rice Bowls, both adding variety to the school’s grab-and-go lunch menu while introducing a fun and creative way to deliver a complete, nutritious meal of grains, vegetables and proteins.
“Our children are asking for many different choices. Currently our menu is grab and go, and often that is associated only with wrapped sandwiches. This new feature offers grab-and-go—in a BOWL. They LOVE IT!,” said Dawso Van Druff.
Van Druff’s students enjoy Asian Rice Bowls with General Tso’s chicken, rice and vegetables, and Fiesta Rice Bowls of seasoned rice topped with spicy taco beef, which also features a do-it-yourself station for kids to add garnishes of shredded cheese and salsa. For added visual appeal, the Rice Bowls are served in clear bowl containers to further increase students’ interest in colorful, healthy quick meals.
Rice Bowls, a major trend in the foodservice industry and especially in the K-12 segment, are an ideal way to offer nourishing meals that are full of flavor. Both students and teachers give them high grades for taste, appeal and meal variety.
Adding Rice Bowls to lunch menus:
- Helps promote healthful eating habits for students
- Is easy to plan, prepare and serve
- Stretches ever-tightening budgets to better balance lower-cost commodity ingredients like rice with higher-cost proteins
- Fits the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid recommendations to eat more grains, including whole grain brown rice
- Lets school menus reflect the hottest trends in foodservice today, and allows students to “customize” their food choices
The USA Rice Federation sponsors the “Healthy Rice Bowls Contest” so that school foodservice directors from all across the country can share their success stories and ideas for serving healthy meals for school lunch. Winner Cynthia Dawso Van Druff will receive two Aroma rice cookers – a commercial-size cooker for her school, and a consumer-size rice cooker for herself and will be featured on MenuRice.com. For more on the winner and other entries as well as recipe ideas, visit http://www.menurice.com/Industry_Segments/Schools-K-12/Rice_Bowls/
The USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting programs to build awareness and usage of U.S.-grown rice. U.S. rice accounts for over 80% of the rice consumed in America. It is grown and harvested by local farmers in five south central states and California according to the highest quality and cleanliness standards. The U.S. produces an abundance of short, medium and long grain rice, as well as specialty rices including jasmine, basmati, arborio, red aromatic and black japonica, among others.
For more information, contact Rosa Marie Brantley at (410) 715-1500 x152.