National Banana Bread Day is Saturday. After a (very) quick search I couldn't find the history of why (or who) declared Feb. 23 a national holiday for banana bread but the internet celebrates the day as only today's online marketing campaigns can – through social media. The popularity of food and recipe websites doesn't hurt either.

My 16-year-old was inspired to bake banana bread yesterday, which is how I was reminded about this holiday. She was planning to bring a snack over to a friend's house and had banana bread on the brain thanks to her love of Pinterest.

The Pinterest board, dubbed Happy Banana Bread Day (sponsored by Dole Bananas which of course has no vested interest in the promotion of bananas), offers images with links of banana bread for every type of nutritional need – from gluten-free to dairy-free to diabetes friendly to vegan and a whole lot in between. National Banana Bread Day is an equal opportunity holiday. No banana bread consumer will be left out of this one (well, unless of course you're allergic to bananas, which is possible and something I never thought about until I looked it up).

If you find yourself digging out your favorite banana bread recipe this week, you might want to consider sharing it with a larger audience for a chance to win a prize.

Whole Foods Market in Portland is hosting a sampling and recipe contest in honor of National Banana Bread Day this Saturday. It's from noon to 2 p.m. The contest portion of the day requires submissions be made by 2 p.m. The winner will be determined by a panel of judges. There are some rules so you can stop by the Customer Service desk for details.

If you're just in it for the tasting, the store's press release indicated there would be sampling available in every department in the store.

And if during your banana bread celebrations you want to learn some strange and interesting facts about bananas, check out Foodimentary's banana-inspired post. For instance, banana trees are really an "herbaceous plant," more commonly known as an herb (which I confirmed is true on Oxford Dictionaries).

Foodie social media is a wealth of information you may find interesting, or not, on any given "holiday" of the year.

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About the Author

Meredith Goad has harvested oysters on the Chesapeake Bay, eaten reindeer in Finland and sipped hot chai in the Himalayas. She writes the weekly Soup to Nuts column and enjoys a good cocktail.

Meredith can be contacted at 791-6332 or mgoad@pressherald.com
On Twitter: @meredithgoad

Susan Axelrod's food writing career began in the kitchen; she owned a restaurant and catering business before turning to journalism more than a decade ago. To relax, she bakes, gardens and hikes with her husband and their two dogs. A newcomer to Portland, she is an online content producer for the Press Herald.

Susan can be contacted at 791-6310 or saxelrod [at] pressherald.com.
On Twitter: @susansaxelrod

Wendy Almeida and her family have a smattering of livestock and a summer garden. After 10 years of her kids being involved in 4-H, she's finally accepted the term "hobby farm" to describe her family's work at sustainable living. These days her morning starts with milking a goat before heading into the office for her day job as an assistant editor for features.

Wendy can be contacted at wea [at] mainetoday.com or on Twitter @wea1021.

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