This blog post is in partnership with Quaker Oats Company. Thanks for supporting projects that make Nutrition Happen!
Earlier this month, I went with the Quaker team to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to learn about oat harvesting and milling. The Quaker oat milling location in Cedar Rapids is the largest one in the world. One of my favorite things to learn about (besides nutrition, obviously) is where and how our food gets from farm to table. This was such a treat!
(view of the Quaker facility from our hotel)
We flew in on a Wednesday and the entire group met for dinner at Cobble Hill Eatery. The menu was of course, oat-inspired. I’m still dreaming about the fall apple and greens salad with an oat and brown rice seeded cracker! The pecan vinaigrette was SO insanely delicious. We chatted with our waiter who shared with us that her father has worked at Quaker for more than 50 years. I love hearing stories about the people who have supported such an iconic brand. After 140 years, the passion for the company is still very apparent, especially in this town!
The next day we started our tour of Quaker’s milling facility. We learned about oat milling from highly experienced millers and the process of cutting and flaking all the different types of oats. Quaker maintains their high quality standards by testing each batch of oats that come through the facility with a specific grading process on-site. Only oats that have passed the grading process are able to go on to be included in Quaker products that we buy on shelves today!
Out of all the oat varieties, my favorite is still Quaker Old Fashioned Oats. The harvested oat plant called the groat, is flattened into the rolled shape of old-fashioned oats. Other types of Quaker Oats include Steel Cut, Quick 1-Minute, Original Instant and Steel Cut Quick 3-Minute – but from a nutrition perspective, they all provide the same nutritional benefits, like the soluble fiber and B vitamins. They are all also 100% whole grain. It comes down to texture and cooking time when we choose which kind we individually like – there’s always something for everyone!
We had the amazing opportunity to have one of Quaker’s Direct Growers to join us on the trip – all the way from Canada! There are over 400 oat farmers who are Direct Growers for Quaker and share the same passion in growing the highest possible quality of oats.
The photos you see here is almost everything that goes behind the scenes. The technology they use maximizes how much oatmeal they can produce so they can keep up with our demand of oats (thank goodness!).
Meeting all the people behind the Quaker company helped me understand not only the oat harvest and milling process, but also how committed the company is to making sure the oats we buy are the best possible. In chatting with the Quaker team, it’s no wonder that it’s the passion from the people there that makes the company come alive. One of the best parts from the trip was listening to how much the Quaker standards meant to each one of them and how they’ve impacted the company along the way. As a health profession, part of nutrition education is also teaching about the quality of the food we eat. Oatmeal is a nutritious, affordable, and versatile pantry staple that I always recommend for everyone’s grocery lists. It’s so wonderful to meet with such an iconic brand that shares the same belief!
