The UNCLE BEN'S® Brand launches inaugural International Cook with Your Kids Day
New survey reveals the need to help parents boost their Kitchen Confidence
TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Parenting styles vary across the globe, but there's something almost all moms and dads agree on: teaching their kids to cook is important. However, new research from the UNCLE BEN'S® Brand shows that less than half of Canadian parents feel confident in their own ability to cook, limiting their confidence to pass this important life skill onto their children.
The UNCLE BEN'S® Brand is launching the first International Cook with Your Kids Day on October 15, 2016, to prompt parents in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to set aside time to learn to cook together. Helping to build that confidence, the UNCLE BEN'S® Brand, the number one global rice brand, has expanded its BEN'S BEGINNERS™ program by providing interactive, step-by-step cooking instructions and family-friendly recipes online at beginners.unclebens.ca.
"We know the impact that cooking and eating as a family has on health," said Kyle Lyons, UNCLE BEN'S® Marketing Director. "There's no doubt that getting children interested in preparing food at an early age helps them establish healthy lifelong eating habits. We established International Cook with Your Kids Day as another way to make sure parents and kids experience the mealtime moment together from start to finish."
At beginners.unclebens.ca, Canadians can find interactive activities that teach basic cooking skills like peeling and stirring, as well as easy and delicious recipes. To enter, families submit a photo featuring their child(ren) accompanied by an adult in the kitchen preparing a rice-based dish together. They then share the photo of their creations on social media using #LookWhatWeMade. Three Canadian winners* will be awarded a Grand Prize of $10,000 CAD which may be used towards a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). Full entry details can be found at beginners.unclebens.ca.
To encourage Canadian families to take part in the program, Rick Campanelli, host of ET Canada, has teamed up with the UNCLE BEN'S® Brand, and will be spending time with Canadian families this October, helping to give parents the confidence to teach their children how to cook.
"Like many Canadians, I have a young family, and know firsthand how intimidating it can be to get my kids in the kitchen with me and my wife," said Campanelli. "What's important to remember is that you don't have to be a professional chef to teach your kids to cook. The basics are easy to learn, and BEN'S BEGINNERS™ has the right tools to teach you, so you can pass down the skills to your kids, and they can one day pass them down to theirs."
The UNCLE BEN'S® Brand research, dubbed the Kitchen Confidence Survey, asked more than 4,000 parents of kids under 18 in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom about their family's cooking skills and traditions. The Survey led to surprising resultsi:
- 98 percent of parents in Canada feel it is important that their children know how to cook or bake. However, only 36 percent cook with their children weekly, while 29 per cent cook with their children monthly or less
- Seven in 10 households eat together as a family five or more nights a week in Canada
- Only a third of Canadian parents feel highly skilled in their abilities to create a balanced meal, season, and pan fry
- Two-thirds of parents in Canada do not have a high level of confidence in their children's ability to follow a recipe
About the UNCLE BEN'S® Brand
The UNCLE BEN'S® Brand, the number one global rice brand, is proud to offer a wide range of rice dishes with flavors and textures that will help bring more to your meals, both for savory main courses and convenient side dishes. The UNCLE BEN'S® Brand offers a wide variety of white, whole grain brown, and flavored rices in cook times ranging from 30 minutes to 90 seconds, as well as rice for food service operations such as restaurants, schools and hospitals. The first mass-produced parboiled rice, UNCLE BEN'S® Brand products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. The UNCLE BEN'S® Brand products are manufactured by Mars Food, part of Mars, Incorporated. For more information, visit www.unclebens.ca
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i Kitchen Confidence Survey, Mars Food North America, Results from a nationally representative survey of a total 4,486 parents of children under 18 years old within the household conducted in the U.S., U.K. and Canada from June 27, 2016 through July 8, 2016, and managed by YouGov. |
SOURCE UNCLE BEN'S® Brand
Bri Bijman, 416-206-5242, [email protected]
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