Uncle Ben’s Inspires Families Everywhere To Connect In The Kitchen

The Uncle Ben’s Brand, the number-one selling brand of rice in the United States, has teamed up with New York-based celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson to announce the third annual Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest, designed to inspire healthy lifelong eating habits by encouraging parents and kids to cook together.

Parents with children in grades K-8 can submit home videos of their families’ preparing a rice-based dish and discussing their experience cooking together.

This year, participants will vie for the chance to win one of five grand prize packages which includes $15,000 cash, a hometown celebration and a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for their child’s school. Submissions for the Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 10, 2014. Families can visit here to find kid-friendly recipe ideas, cooking tips and the official contest rules.

“The bond that can blossom between parents and their children when cooking together is enormous,” said Tim Snyder, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Mars Food North America, the parent company of the Uncle Ben’s Brand. “It’s our goal to instill this bond in families and at the same time, get kids to learn about healthy eating.”

Now more than ever, research shows a positive association between family meal times and children’s diets. In fact, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, eating dinner as a family at least three times a week helps kids maintain a normal weight and develop healthier eating habits.

For the third year, the Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest will bring parents and their children together in a fun, educational atmosphere to help kids learn the benefits of healthy eating habits and a strong family connection.

To celebrate the launch, the Uncle Ben’s Brand will hit the road for a five-market tour to St. Louis (Aug. 21), Tampa (Aug. 27), Cincinnati (Sept. 4), San Francisco (Sept. 9) and Boston (Sept. 15) to host family cooking events that bring together communities and past contestants with a local celebrity chef for a fun-filled day of activities.

In early December, the contest will culminate with community events attended by Chef Marcus Samuelsson to award the five Ben’s Beginners grand prize winners in each of their hometowns.

  Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest, Children, Cooking, Family, Food, Promotions, Uncle Ben’s, USA