USA Rice’s Cameron Jacobs drives home the U.S. rice industry’s commitment to sustainability. (Photo courtesy of USA Rice.)
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Last week, USA Rice Vice President of Domestic Promotion Cameron Jacobs presented at the Arkansas School Nutrition Association annual conference highlighting U.S.-grown rice’s role in school feeding programs and showcasing how to strengthen child nutrition programs by utilizing local Arkansas rice, and sharing ways school nutrition officials can maximize rice as an ingredient.
The session, titled “Farm to Table Rice,” focused on practical approaches to implementing Farm to School initiatives, building partnerships with local producers, and incorporating Arkansas-grown rice into reimbursable meals.
Jacobs was joined by Arkansas Department of Agriculture Farm to School Coordinator Leslee Tell to cover all aspects of rice in schools from understanding rice nutrition and trends to actionable ways to showcase Arkansas rice and other local products in schools.
Jacobs’ side of the presentation provided basic foundational knowledge of rice as an ingredient and an overview of the Arkansas rice industry, promoted the U.S.-grown difference, and highlighted ways rice can alleviate some of the burden of the top challenges facing K-12 nutrition programs, while capitalizing on the most popular menu trends.
Tell discussed her experience in implementing the pilot program of the state’s farm to school initiative and educated the crowd on how to align procurement requirements with local sourcing, highlight regional commodities in menu planning, and use Farm to School efforts to support student engagement and community connections.
“With rice’s nutrition profile, affordability, and culinary versatility, it really is a workhorse of an ingredient for schools, and it is vital we continue to get the word out on that through these types of training sessions and working directly with those responsible for feeding our students,” said Jacobs. “USA Rice commends the state for the rollout of the Arkansas Plate program which not only grows the amount of state grown commodities featured on students’ plates but also works to establish a stronger connection to local agriculture and fosters a better understanding of nutrition.”
The Arkansas School Nutrition Association conference brings school nutrition officials from across the state to take part in education and training opportunities and hear updates on regulatory, legislative, industry, nutritional information related to school nutrition members.
