Expanding the reach of regional grain educational materials throughout the AGC region
Following the inaugural foray into working with grocery stores for the 2025 Grains Grown Here pilot project, we were excited to expand this educational messaging throughout AGC's 7-state region for the March 2026 campaign.
AGC members were instrumental in our outreach to grocers. Those who are working with grocers and sell product through grocery stores were able to make introductions between those stores and project lead Elena Byrne, AGC's Communications Manager. Thanks to those connections, 40 grocery partners participated in March 2026. See a detailed map here.
The overall goals for this effort remained consistent with those from the pilot:
• Help grocers highlight their support for local grain farmers and makers
• Help shoppers identify food and beverage products made with local grains
• Educate shoppers about the benefits of purchasing locally-grown grains and 'knowing your grain farmer.'
A toolkit of materials was made available to grocers, who ordered the items they wanted for their store and agreed to display the materials during the month of March. A media kit of digital assets was also provided with images and descriptions addressing benefits of locally-grown grains, and a campaign landing page offered recipes highlighting local grains and other opportunities to learn more about grains and the people behind the regional grains movement in the Midwest.
Following the campaign, 55% of participating grocers responded to a feedback form, and we celebrate the data point that 100% of them are interested in participating again next year!
When asked if they saw any change in sales of grain products during the month, 47% reported observing an increase.
Some listed specific types of products that gained traction, and one reported that,
"ancient grains like spelt [sold more] as folks seemed to be more comfortable baking/cooking once they were told how via the zines and tearaway recipes."
Grocers generally observed that the cooking tips tear pads and stickers were the most useful components of the toolkit, followed by the poster.
"The educational materials and media that AGC provided my business has really helped to make local whole grains much more exciting and approachable for my customers. The cooking tips gave them an easy way to try something new."
—Erik Larsson, City Vittles
“The materials provided by the Grains Grown Here campaign were easy to incorporate into our store displays and communication workflows. We had great talking points and visuals and we appreciated the credibility the messaging gave us to our audiences in store and online."
— Jennifer Santi, Zingerman's Delicatessen
To get a sense of the number of consumers that had the potential to see these messaging materials, we asked the participating stores about their store traffic during the month of March. The below chart gives an idea of the spread in store sizes and customer reach. We're happy to have a range, and we look forward to seeing this impact grow over time!
We are so grateful for the extra time and care that these participating grocers put into the campaign, helping communicate to shoppers about locally-grown grains and the benefits to environment and community health from purchasing from farmers, millers, and bakers near you. To see the campaign landing page designed to guide shoppers to more information about regional grains, click here.
Below are more examples of the materials in use. Thank you to the participating grocers!