Grain Guide Resources
While our compilation is not comprehensive, the links below provide helpful suggestions for a place to begin your research. If you want to add a resource, please email us at FoodLab@tufts.edu.
Find a Mill:
Grinder Finder – Map and directory of mills across the U.S. and a few in Europe. All entries in this list sell or produce wheat berries, other grains, or flour and milled products from local farms.
Amy Halloran – Amy Halloran is an author, change agent, and champion of regional grains. Her blog provides a list of mills organized by state.
New American Stone Mills Directory – Listing of bakeries and mills in the U.S. and internationally that use a New American Stone Mill, organized by location.
A Thousand Bites of Bread – Blog written by Adrian Hale includes a directory of mills and some bakeries.
Camas Country Mill, Junction City, OR
Networks & Community builders:
Maine Grain Alliance
Northeast Grainshed Alliance
Local Grains (New England)
Artisan Grain Collaborative (Midwest)
Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project – (Southern California)
Colorado Grain Chain
GrowNYC Grains
California Grains
Washington Grain Commission
Common Grain Alliance (Mid-Atlantic)
North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS)
Wheat Marketing Center, Portland, OR
The Grain Lady
Farms & Growers:
Black-owned Farms & Food Gardens
National Association of Wheat Growers
Northern Grain Growers Association
Organic Trade Association
U.S. Organic Grain — How to Keep it Growing
There is no organized list of farms growing food-grade grains in the U.S., so check with your local mill to find out who grows their grains.
Whole Grain Varieties
A to Z (from the Whole Grains Council)
Our Northern Grains
Funding Sources:
USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grants
USDA Local Food Promotion Grant
California Department of Food and Agriculture Farm to School Incubator Program
Maryland Grain Producers Checkoff Grant
Maine Grain Alliance Technical Assistance Grant
Massachusetts Buy Local Grant Program
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Farm to School Grant
Vermont Farm to School & Early Child Care Grant
Washington State Department of Agriculture Farm to School Purchasing Grants
Seeds & Research
Hourami Ancient Wheat, Washington State University Bread Lab
International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center, CIMMYT
Culinary Breeding Network
Seed to Kitchen Collaborative
Grain Analysis & Research
State University Extension Services
University of Vermont
The Cornell University Small Grains Cultivar Testing Website
University of Maine
Formulas & Recipes:
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Just Bread
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Cowboy Cookies
Ginger Snap Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Rye Gingerbread Tiles
Baking Education & Information
Breadtopia
King Arthur Baking Company
Bread Bakers Guild of America (membership fee)
Maine Grain Alliance
The Bread Lab at Washington State University
Claire Saffritz, Make Beautiful Sourdough
Dawn Woodward, The Grain Project
Existing Whole Grain Education and Marketing Efforts:
SNAP-Ed – Nutrition education classes for youth and adults based on the USDA nutrition guidelines, including the guidance to “make half your grains whole grains.” Funded by the USDA as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
WIC – Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a USDA-funded program that offers supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education to low-income pregnant and postpartum women and children up to age 5. WIC-approved food choices include whole grain items.
National School Lunch Program – breakfast, lunch, and afterschool snacks must include grain-based foods made with 51% or more whole grains per the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
FoodCorps – elementary education offered in conjunction with school gardens.
Public Health Initiatives – public health non-profits, universities, and other groups may employ different tactics to educate their communities on whole grains. Some methods include community events, mobile teaching kitchens, and outreach to specific groups like sports teams or the elderly. The Tufts Food Lab and the Washington State University Bread Lab are two examples.
Local Grain advocates – examples include the California Wheat Commission, which recently launched the Wheat2School project to bring whole grain and freshly milled flours into schools. You can find a list on the Whole Grain Council website.
Corporations – companies like Quaker Oats, Archer Farms, and Mission Foods choose to market to health-conscious customers using the Whole Grain Stamp and declaring the quantity of whole grains in their packaged foods.
Inspirational Stories from the Lunchroom
Milling Whole Grains in the Cafeteria – an article from Civil Eats about a California effort to include whole grains in the farm-to-school movement.
Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017, Lancet. This critical research establishes whole grains as one of three foods worldwide that most impact morbidity and mortality.
Bibliography
The Third Plate by Dan Barber
Breaking Bread by Martin Philip
Inflamed by Rupa Marya & Raj Patel
Flour Lab by Adam Leonti
Living Bread by Daniel Leader
Farming While Black by Leah Penniman