You Can Rely on Pasta – Celebrating Pasta Month in 2020
By: Erica Olson
Posted: Oct 08 2020
For nearly 30 years, the ND Wheat Commission has celebrated National Pasta Month in October as a way to recognize the state’s dedicated durum producers and the associated durum milling and pasta industries. To help celebrate Pasta Month, the Commission will be partnering with statewide media to provide durum and pasta facts and trivia. Readers and listeners will have a chance to win a pasta prize package, so have your ears and eyes open!
The theme for Pasta Month this year is “You Can Rely on Pasta”. It was chosen because of what has played out in the real, everyday lives of consumers in the U.S. and worldwide for much of 2020, due to the social and economic disruptions caused by COVID-19. Pasta was a food choice that fit well in these challenging times, due to its versatility, nutritional qualities, afford-ability and reliability. As businesses, schools and restaurants closed, consumers returned to cooking at home more than ever in recent times, often turning to comfort and staple foods, and pasta was a popular choice for many families. Oftentimes consumers found the pasta shelf at grocery stores empty as demand surged and pasta companies worked to shift from large scale food service pasta production to smaller boxed pasta products for at home consumption.
Pasta comes in more than 600 shapes and when combined with various sauces, vegetables and protein options, it makes an incredibly versatile meal option. It is also a very nutritious food choice and one of the most economical food options, making it an attractive meal choice in uncertain times. Americans pay around $1.45 for a pound of pasta that provides eight servings – that works out to less than 20 cents per serving. Lastly, pasta is a reliable choice, thanks in large part to the dedication of North Dakota producers which have kept our state as the leading producer of durum in the nation, despite economic challenges.
The Wheat Commission would like to thank our dedicated Pasta Month sponsors: Dakota Growers Pasta, Philadelphia Macaroni and the U.S. Durum Growers Association.