A national contest run by the CWB has shown that Canadian kids are a creative bunch who love their spaghetti.
The contest asked kids to thank “spaghetti farmers” for producing durum wheat, which is the main ingredient in pasta. The winning entries, runners up and honourable mentions are posted online at prairiewheat.ca, the CWB’s consumer-focused Web site. Prairiewheat.ca contains information and activities for the entire family, including recipes, kids’ games, fun facts and nutritional information.
“The quality and creativity of these children’s entries shows that Canadian kids not only love pasta, but they have a true affection and respect for the farmers who grow the food they eat,” said David Burrows, CWB vice-president of communications and government relations.
Nine-year-old Danica Finlay of Vanguard, SK, was the grand-prize winner for her multimedia entry that combined a drawing, actual pasta, and a written tribute to spaghetti. Finlay wins a Nintendo Wii, a case of Primo spaghetti, and a family dinner at a Spaghetti Factory restaurant.
Eight-year-old Lauryn Kolada of St. Andrews, MB, wrote about how much she enjoys pasta dinners at her grandparents: “It really brings us together. And for that, I thank you.” Karsten Van Tryp, 6, of Burdett, AB, summed it up this way: “Thank you durum growers, because I like spaghetti.”
The kids’ contest, launched to coincide with World Pasta day on October 25, garnered drawings, collages, written tributes and three-dimensional pasta art. The spaghetti-farmer contest is part of the CWB’s overall efforts to increase domestic consumption of grain-based foods made with Prairie wheat.
Quality pasta is made from durum wheat. Western Canadian spaghetti farmers are the largest exporters of durum in the world. In fact, people in more than 40 countries eat pasta and couscous made from Prairie durum.
Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. One of Canada’s biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to over 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to farmers.
