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Annual Report 2014
Grains for Health Foundation
WEAVING TOGETHER
Many organizations felt the effect of
fewer available resources, as 2014
brought great challenges to the grains
community, from grain-avoidance to
significant shifts in the grain foods
industry. Grains for Health rallied our
members and many other organizations
to address challenges from a fresh and
increasingly unified perspective. We
were able to strategically weave together
impactful programming despite the
challenges we faced in 2014.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP’s) open
the door to surviving and thriving in our
current environment. In May, Grains for
Health convened key stakeholders with
USDA Undersecretary Catherine Woteki
in Washington D.C. for the purpose of
exploring PPPs as an avenue to bring real
progress and aligned purpose to grains
and health research. This led ultimately
to a workshop of about 30 participants in
December in D.C. The output from this
workshop is now being prioritized
through an Advisory Committee and
acted upon through strategic
partnerships.
In times like these, we are tempted to put
up our best defenses and hide behind the
status quo. However, at Grains for Health
we know that the best defense is a
dynamic offense. GrainUP! delivers that
offense by inviting the community to
celebrate and enjoy delicious healthy
grain-based foods through increased
offerings in away-from-home eating
opportunities. We look forward to
growing GrainUP! through strategic
partnerships and research-focused
programs that also deliver intentional
and empowering consumer-faced
messages. These are two of the strategic
programs that Grains for Health
delivered this year despite feeling the
crunch of our challenging environment.
We are moving into 2015 with a clear
vision and an open door. Join us as,
together, we create the future where
healthy grain-based foods form the
foundation of a healthier food
environment for our communities, our
kids, and our future!
Len Marquart
President and Founder
CREATING OPPORTUNITY
Growing demand for gluten-free products, popularity of grain-avoidance in food patterns such
as the Paleo diet, and consumers listening to Dr. Oz for nutrition advice. Add to this the
continuing obesity crisis, an aging population, and a consumer base that is growing in diversity
and we have a challenging environment for the grains community to create and deliver healthy
grain-based foods.
But the opportunity for grain-based food companies to deliver healthy, convenient, tasty,
affordable, and authentic foods to consumers through innovation and marketing has never
been greater.
Multi-sector collaboration offers us the venue to eliminate barriers to innovation and to
communicate honestly, consistently and clearly with one another and then with one voice to
consumers. Grains for Health is uniquely equipped with the credibility, ability to convene crosssectional constituents, and knowledge to apply systems thinking to address these challenges.
Join us as we tackle these challenges together in 2015 and make a difference in the food
environment for healthier grain-based foods!
THANK YOU BOARD OF DIRECTORS!
Board of Directors
Alicia de Francisco, PhD
Professor: Federal University of Santa Catarina,
Brazil
David Topping, PhD
Chief Research Scientist: CSIRO Food and
Nutritional Sciences, South Australia
Ed Welsch, BS in Business Administration
Treasurer
Gary Jensen, BS in Business Administration
President: Roman Meal
Scott Frazer, PhD
Director of Technical Services: Richardson Milling
Jan Delcour, PhD
Professor & Head: Catholic Universities Leuven,
Belgium
Steve McCurry, PhD
Vice-President: Grains for Health Foundation
Kaisa Poutanen, PhD
Research Professor: VTT the Technical Research
Centre of Finland
Peter F. Levangie, MBA
Board Chair
President and Chief Operating Officer:
Bay State Milling
WEAVING IMPACT
The 2015 Whole Grains Summit
Whole Grains & Health: Empowering healthy change together
Crossing fields. Empowering communities. Harvesting Impact
We are thrilled and honored to co-host The 2015 Whole Grain Summit with Emily Ho, Endowed Director
of Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition and Preventive Health at Oregon State
University.
The Whole Grains Summit continues to be an anchor event for the Grains for Health Foundation. Every
three years, we convene a global sampling of 300+ key stakeholders in the grains & health community
to examine where we are at and where we are going with research and community-based projects
related to grains & health.
If you have attended a Grains for Health meeting in the past, you know that at GHF, a meeting is never
just another meeting. As an attendee you become a part of the conversation and shape the direction of
final outcomes. The outcomes of the Summit then inform the broader strategy of the Grains for Health
Foundation and the greater grains community for the next three years, until the next Summit.
Grains for Health and our partners committed literally hundreds of hours in 2014 to build the Summit,
strategically designing each session to engage the audience- allowing participants to enter into the
question and contribute personally to the outcomes of the Summit.
Join us at The 2015 Whole
Grains Summit for your
next opportunity to
publically inform the
global grains & health
community about issues
you are experiencing as
you try to weave together
health, availability, taste,
convenience, and cost into
our food environment.
Whole Grains & Health:
Empowering Healthy
Change Together, cohosted by Oregon State
University and Grains for
Health, takes place in
Portland, Oregon, USA on
June 24-27th, 2015 at The
Nines Hotel.
http://wholegrainsummit2015.com/
CHANGING OUR FOOD SYSTEM
GrainUp! Consortium
In May a 25-member consortium convened in Minneapolis,
Minnesota to prioritize opportunities in local away-fromhome eating settings. Students presented research showing
current opportunities to incorporate a wider variety of
whole grain foods and bolster perception of healthier,
wholesome foods in Minneapolis restaurants. Additional
research demonstrated that novel technologies can
overcome consumer barriers of flavor, appearance, texture,
and convenience and when these challenges are tackled,
restaurants respond with interest to serve healthier options.
The consortium also explored ways to connect our
mission to that of The Heart of New Ulm (HONU), a
comprehensive community intervention project in rural
Minnesota. HONU presented us with a very clear call to
action- whole grain foods can be difficult to incorporate
into community interventions. So we collaborated to
write and submit two grants to support the
incorporation of whole grains into HONU. These types of
community interventions provide understanding of
consumer behavior on a larger scale and uncover
strategies for creating change in consumer purchasing
and eating behavior.
Building Public-Private Partnerships
In December, Grains for Health, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, hosted a workshop of approximately 30 key
stakeholders in Washington D.C. Our overall objective was to begin to build strong, productive PPPs among academia, government, industry,
and non-profits for the purpose of improving public health by building the scientific foundation for grains and health and allowing healthier
grain-based foods to be more readily available to consumers.
The workshop produced a list of strategic goals for research for the grains and health community. The output is now being prioritized to
focus next steps and engage the grains community to move forward together.
PHAD
Practical Healthy Affordable Desirable
GRAINS FOR HEALTH FOUNDATION’S PROCESS:
HOW WE WORK
1
2
3
CONVENE
COLLABORATE
COLLECTIVE
SOLUTIONS
RIGHT PEOPLE
Interdisciplinary teams
Shared value and purpose
Strong leadership
USE THE RIGHT PROCESS
•
•
•
•
FOCUS the discussion
PRIORITIZE outcomes
LEVERAGE resources
ACT Strategically
SYSTEMS THINKING
WITH THE RIGHT QUESTION
Identifying the right
problem is the first step
•
•
•
Scientific Input
Supply Chain Approach
Food Attributes- PHAD
HANDS-ON &
ON THE GROUND
CHANGE OUR FOOD
SYSTEM
Home
Restaurant
Retail
SCIENTIFICALLY BASED
•
•
•
Strongest evidence available
Challenge paradigms
Build the base of knowledge
HEALTHY CHOICE
=
EASY CHOICE
Schools
BY THE NUMBERS
2014
Revenues &
Expenses
Revenue
14
Restaurants
Partnered
through GrainUp!
Groups
Represented in
Washington DC
108,886.33
Expenses
Administrative
88,834.05
Program
22,587.90
Total
111,421.95
30
300
Participants
Expected 2015
Whole Grains
Summit
Thank You
Members!
Thank You Program Sponsors!
Thanks for
Connecting!
Grains for Health Foundation
6311 Wayzata Blvd. Ste. 240
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
Phone: 952-500-9012
www.grainsforhealth.org