Barilla® Gives Homesick College Students the Love They Miss from Home with: Home Away from Home Kitchen

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Barilla, the world's leading pasta maker, celebrates pasta every month, but especially during October a.k.a. National Pasta Month. Barilla will mark the occasion this year by giving select college students the comforting taste of the dishes they crave most from home with the Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen – because nothing reminds you of home quite like a homecooked meal.

This fall, students across the nation left home for the first time to attend college, and for many, this can be an emotional transition. Barilla knows that sharing a dish of pasta is one of the simplest ways to show someone you care, and since 94% of college students reported feeling homesick during the first 10 weeks of school¹, there's no better time than National Pasta Month to help students feel that care with the authentic taste of home. The limited-time Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen will feature some of college students' favorite delicious pasta dishes that remind them of home – delivered for free right to their door.

"For Barilla, pasta is a simple food to love as it truly brings people together – connecting over a wholesome meal to make new memories and family traditions," said Melissa Tendick, Vice President of Marketing, Barilla Americas. "I reflect fondly on the many times I've prepared pasta at home for my children, seeing their smiles at the dinner table and feeling the warmth of family with each delicious bite. We hope that with the Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen, students embrace the taste of home and ultimately, feel closer to their loved ones."

To develop the menu, Barilla commissioned a nationwide survey of college students to find out what it is they miss the most from home². The survey concluded that over half of students (55%) ranked homemade meals within the top three things they will miss most from home, second behind their family (77%). In addition, pasta was the most-selected favorite homemade dish among college students.

Students can pick one of the most loved pasta meals to receive – Rigatoni Carbonara, Lasagna, Spaghetti and Meatballs or Macaroni and Cheese. To ensure the feeling of home, Barilla will even customize each meal with the input of a student's loved one to be reminiscent of the meal they miss most.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME KITCHEN OFFER
Starting October 19 at 11 a.m. CT, students in Madison, Wisc. can place their order for a free meal at www.BarillaHomeAwayFromHomeKitchen.com and get it delivered to their door in three simple steps:

1. Students can pick from one of the four pasta dishes offered – as well as provide their delivery and contact information. Each meal will also include a side salad. Students must use a .edu email address to participate.
2. Students have the option to have Barilla customize the meal to make it as close to their loved one's recipe. Barilla will connect with the student to get in touch with their loved one for their input to make the meal like they do.
   o   This could be adding special ingredients (do they add olives to the sauce? lots of black pepper?), notes
        on preparation (should the cheese be extra crispy? light amount of sauce?) and more.
3. Barilla will deliver the finished meals from October 25-26 at the selected dates and times the students chose.

Mark your calendar because the Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen will be accepting orders for a limited time. Orders will be open from October 19-22, while supplies last.

"BARILLA. A SIGN OF LOVE."
The Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen is an extension of "Barilla. A Sign of Love," a new global brand platform the company launched in April 2021. Through "Barilla. A Sign of Love," preparing pasta becomes a way to communicate what people can often fail to say with words. Difficult emotional statements, such as "I love you", "I missed you" or "sorry, it's my fault" can be demonstrated by something as simple as a dish of pasta.

TLDR
In celebration of National Pasta Month this October, Barilla is giving homesick college students in Madison, Wisc. the comforting taste of home with the Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen. Starting October 19 at 11 a.m. CT, students can place their order for a free meal at www.BarillaHomeAwayFromHomeKitchen.com and get it delivered in three simple steps:

1. Students pick one of the four pasta meals offered, as well as provide their delivery and contact information.
2. Students have the option to have Barilla customize the meal to make it as close to their loved one's recipe. Barilla will connect with the student to get in touch with their loved one for their input to make the meal like they do.
3. Barilla will deliver the finished meals from October 25-26 at the selected dates and times the students chose.

The Barilla Home Away from Home Kitchen will be accepting orders while supplies last on a first-come, first-serve basis, so students are encouraged to act fast once orders are open. More information can be found at www.BarillaHomeAwayFromHomeKitchen.com.

¹English, T., Davis, J., Wei, M., & Gross, J. J. (2017). Homesickness and adjustment across the first year of college: A longitudinal study. Emotion, 17(1), 1–5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5280212/

²Barilla commissioned a 3-minute online survey among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 college students ages 18-24 pursuing an Associate's or Bachelor's degree who are living away from home this semester. The margin of error for this sample is +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level. The survey was fielded by Edelman Data and Intelligence between August 31-September 22, 2021.

About the Barilla Group 
Barilla is a family company, not listed on the stock exchange, chaired by brothers Guido, Luca and Paolo Barilla. It was founded by their great-grandfather, Pietro Barilla, who opened a bakery in Parma in 1877. Now, Barilla is famous in Italy and throughout the world for the excellence of its food products. With its brands – Barilla, Vero Gusto, Mulino Bianco, Pan di Stelle, Gran Cereale, Harrys, Pavesi, Wasa, Filiz, Yemina and Vesta, Misko, Voiello and Cucina Barilla – it promotes a tasty, joyful and healthy diet, inspired by the Mediterranean Diet and the Italian lifestyle.  

When Pietro opened his store more than 140 years ago, his overriding aim was to make good food. Today, that principle has become Barilla's way of doing business: "Good for You, Good for the Planet," a slogan that expresses the daily commitment of the over 8,000 people who work for the company, and of a supply chain that shares its values and passion for quality.  

"Good for You" means constantly improving the product offering, encouraging the adoption of healthy lifestyles and facilitating people's access to food.

"Good for the Planet" means promoting sustainable supply chains and reducing CO2 emissions and water consumption. 

To learn more: www.barillagroup.com; Twitter: @barillagroup 

Media Contacts:

Katie McNicholas
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Renee Mailhiot
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SOURCE Barilla Group