School Meals That Rock is proud to partner with Barilla K-12 Pasta to promote whole grain pasta in school meals. Why? It’s quite simple: I serve Barilla products at home and I believe that they are a deliciously wholesome way for school meal programs to meet the USDA National School Lunch Program requirements for whole grains.

So what is the #BarillaPastaDayGiveaway? It’s as simple as serving tasty pasta meals in your program. All you have to do is enroll in the program online and then submit a photo from your school nutrition program. It can be a photo of a school lunch tray with a pasta entrée or side salad; it can also be a salad bar or serving line with featuring a pasta dish; it can be a photo from your school kitchen where cooks are preparing your students favorite pasta menu item. Joelle Bradley enrolled and submitted this gorgeous tray of Barilla Whole Grain Rotini with beef sauce that she said is always a hit with the students at Redwood Elementary, Fort Bragg, California!

Joelle Bradley is now entered to win $500 in the November monthly contest – and she is also entered to win the #BarillaPastaDayGiveaway Grand Prize: A one-day visit by Barilla Consulting Chef Bruno Wehren, for a comprehensive staff training on cooking whole grain pasta. Jeanne Reilly, NDTR, SNS, school nutrition director in Windham-Raymond RSU 314, Maine, was the September winner with the Cheesy Baked Ziti in the bottom left below. The other photos illustrate all the delicious ways that Windham-Raymond School Nutrition Program menus pasta to their students. They put Barilla Pasta on the menu frequently because #KidsLovePasta, it is what they eat at home, and parents approve of whole grain pasta dishes for school lunch.

Need ideas for menuing Barilla pasta in your program? Barilla Foodservice Recipes offer endless possibilities for smart menu creations. This updated Turkey Tetrazzini with Penne Pasta is perfect for the holiday season. It’s also perfect for your school food budget since it features three USDA Foods (Turkey Roast, IQF Mushrooms and Lite Mozzarella Cheese). Give students a familiar choice and give your program a boost in participation. For more information on Barilla, call 1.866.349.4386, and visit barillafs.com for recipe inspiration.