Marking its fifth year, the Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest from General Mills Foodservice is bigger than ever—doubling the number of winners to give even more independent restaurants and food trucks the chance to win more than $200,000 in cash and prizes. As of today, March 1, the restaurant recipe contest is officially accepting entries for original recipes that use at least one item from General Mills’ list of eligible products as a recipe ingredient.

The annual Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest gives restaurants and food trucks the opportunity to showcase their one-of-a-kind dishes and enjoy some time in the national spotlight. This year’s competition will honor 10 Regional Recipe Winners, two from each region, who will each receive $5,000 in cash and an additional $1,000 to share with a local charity of their choice. General Mills will also travel to each regional winner’s hometown to host a festive celebration event at their restaurant or food truck as a way to recognize them in their communities.

“We started this contest five years ago to recognize the hard work and passion that our favorite neighborhood restaurants put into their menu items—those signature dishes and familiar favorites that stand out and instill a great source of hometown pride,” says Alyca Judge, senior marketing manager for General Mills Foodservice, which partners with restaurants to provide back-of-house products, recipe inspiration and culinary support.  “We look forward to traveling across the country to celebrate the 2019 contest winners, and putting them and their award-winning recipes on the center stage.”

One of the 10 regional winners will also be named the Grand Prize Recipe Winner and receive a total of $10,000 in cash and $2,000 to share with a local charity as well as a three-day trip for two to the 2019 New York City Wine & Food Festival, the premier food and wine event that celebrates America’s favorite foods.  

For every eligible recipe received from March 1 to April 30, 2019, General Mills will donate $5 to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in the United States, up to $10,000. 

“We have been touched by the generosity of independent family and neighborhood restaurants over the years and how much they give back to their own communities,” said Judge. “As General Mills Foodservice marks the fifth year of Neighborhood to Nation, we sought a meaningful way to show our gratitude, and we are proud to help raise funds for childhood hunger which impacts neighborhoods nationwide.”

Contest Details

The Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest is open to foodservice operators, chefs and line cooks who develop and prepare recipes for menu items served at independent, commercial restaurants or food trucks. From March 1 to April 30, 2019, participants may log on to www.neighborhoodtonation.com to submit an original recipe using at least one ingredient from General Mills Foodservice’s participating brands: Pillsbury™ (biscuits, puff pastry and pie dough), Gold Medal (baking mixes), Yoplait® (yogurt) and Mountain High® (yogurt).

Recipes will be judged based on taste, appearance, creativity and foodservice viability. Ten Regional Recipe Winners (representing the West, North Central, South Central, Northeast and Southeast) will be announced in August as well as the Grand Prize Recipe Winner. In addition, this year’s contest will recognize one of the Regional Winners with the “People’s Choice” award and an additional $1,000 to the local charity of their choice, based on fan voting on the General Mills Convenience and Foodservice Facebook page.

Neighborhood to Nation was created to inspire culinary creativity among independent restaurants and food trucks, giving operators an opportunity to experiment with high-quality and consistent products from General Mills Foodservice as well as exclusive access to trend information, insights and ideas to help them differentiate their menus and delight their diners. For more information on eligibility, complete contest details (including a $50 rebate on Neighborhood to Nation eligible products) and the official contest rules, restaurants should contact their General Mills Foodservice representative, call 1.800.215.6120 or visit www.NeighborhoodtoNation.com.