World Pasta Day: Sharing the Love of Pasta with the Next Generation

The secret is not in the sauce, it is in the high quality durum wheat – grown by U.S. wheat farmers – used to make the 600 shapes of pasta enjoyed by children and adults around the world.

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, pasta lovers big and small on five continents will celebrate the 17th annual World Pasta Day. This year, the celebration is focused on spreading the world’s love of pasta to the next generation through a new brochure produced by the International Pasta Organisation (IPO) and Oldways (a non-profit organization focused on challenging the way people eat through practical and positive programs grounded in science, traditions and delicious food and drinks).

The two organizations are introducing “Pasta for Children Around the World,” a nutrition and cooking curriculum which includes four lessons offering basic information about pasta, geography, history, agriculture and cultural traditions as well as recipes, health information and fun facts. USW sponsored the “Pasta for All” brochure five years ago. These brochures and other resources are available on the Oldways website at http://oldwayspt.org/resources/good-food/pasta.

Great quality pasta dishes would not be possible without excellent durum wheat, especially the high quality durum wheat grown by U.S. wheat farmers. Wheat growers in Arizona and California produce Desert Durum®, while wheat producers in North Dakota and Montana grow northern durum. Farmers in North Dakota alone grow 60 percent of the U.S. durum crop – enough to make nearly 17 billion servings of pasta!

For more ways to celebrate World Pasta Day, visit the National Pasta Association’s website at http://www.ilovepasta.org.

**Source: US Wheat Associates