As part of its RISE campaign—a campaign designed to educate consumers about the important role bread and other grains play in a healthful diet—the Grain Foods Foundation (GFF) partnered with a third-party vendor to develop a grains nutrition education curriculum aimed at reaching teachers in grades three through six. (The campaign concluded on June 30.)

The program, titled Growing with Grains, educated students about the benefits of incorporating grain foods into their diets, while reinforcing language arts skills. Printed kits were distributed in 16 key markets, reaching 25,800 teachers and nearly 1.2 million students and their families. GFF reached an additional 5,000 teachers via an e-blast.

As a follow-up to the campaign, each teacher received a reply to provide feedback about the program. Of the 66% of teachers who responded:

• 98% rated the program's appeal to students as "good to excellent."

• 97% rated the program's educational effectiveness as "good to excellent."

• 76% of teachers used the program; 81% of which shared it with other teachers.

• 49% of teachers indicated that they overheard students talking about nutrition.

• 88% of students were able to draw a connection between grain foods and energy.

• 64% of students were able to understand the importance of—and difference between—enriched grains and whole grains.

Program elements typically receive an average rating of 87% as "good to excellent." However, the GFF curriculum surpassed this benchmark, with survey results revealing 96% of teachers found the materials to be "good to excellent." To view the curriculum, visit www.gowiththegrain.org/community/educators.php.

Source: The Grain Foods Foundation