LENEXA, KANSAS, US — As part of its ongoing educational mission, the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) is partnering with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri on the organization’s first flour milling badge program.

This program is the result of the work of the IAOM PR Initiative, a project to increase the visibility of grain milling as a career opportunity. The program will be promoted to a targeted group of 30,000 girls, the largest female workforce pipeline in the region. 

About 90 Girl Scouts will participate in a Milling Badge Day on Jan. 27, 2024, in the Girl Scouts’ offices in St. Louis, Missouri, US. To earn their Flour Ranger badges, the scouts will learn the process of turning wheat into flour, an essential ingredient in their popular cookies.

“We are very excited to be working with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri to highlight the important work of the milling industry,” said Steve Matson of Bay State Milling and president of IAOM. “We have a better chance of getting someone interested or thinking about a possible career in milling if they have the opportunity to experience the process first-hand.

“As we work as an industry to make our milling facilities more inclusive and attract a more diverse workforce, partnerships and opportunities that showcase our noble profession to a new audience of talent will be even more important for us.” 

IAOM has been the leading provider of educational resources and training for the grain milling industry since its foundation in 1896.