NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. These are the Official Rules for the Monroe Monthly Recipe Contest. Please read them before you enter.
1. Sponsor
The Monroe Monthly Recipe Contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by Monroe (“Sponsor,” “we” or “us”). Questions about the Contest can be sent through our Contact page at monroesausage.com/contact. By entering, you agree to these Official Rules and to Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding on all matters related to the Contest. The Contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.
2. Who Can Enter
The Contest is open only to legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older (19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Mississippi) at the time of entry. Residents of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories and all other countries may not enter. Employees, officers, directors and contractors of Sponsor, its affiliates, its advertising and promotion agencies, and anyone involved in running the Contest, plus their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their spouses) and anyone living in their household, are not eligible.
3. No Purchase Necessary
You do not have to buy anything to enter or win. A purchase will not improve your chances. You do not need to buy, own or cook with Monroe products to enter: your recipe only has to call for them, as explained under How to Enter. This is a contest of skill: winners are chosen by judging, not by chance.
4. Contest Periods
The Contest runs in monthly periods. Each period starts at 12:00:00 AM Central Time on the first day of a calendar month and ends at 11:59:59 PM Central Time on the last day of that month. Sponsor’s server clock is the official timekeeper. Entries received after a period ends are entered in the next period.
5. How to Enter
Complete the entry form at monroesausage.com/submit-a-recipe with your recipe, at least one photo of the finished dish and the requested contact information. Unless the contest page states a different requirement for that period, your recipe’s ingredient list must call for at least one Monroe product. You may develop, test and photograph your recipe with any brand. Sponsor may announce themes or categories for a period on the contest page (for example, desserts, sides or drinks), including categories that do not require a Monroe product, and the requirements posted there for a period are part of these rules. Entries by mail, email, social media comment or any other method are not accepted.
6. Entry Limits
One entry per person per period. Entries from the same person, email address or household beyond the limit, and entries made with multiple identities, by automated means (bots, scripts, macros) or by any third party, are void.
7. Your Promises About Your Entry
By entering, you represent and warrant that: (1) the recipe, photo and any text are your own original work, created by you, and have not been published, sold or entered in another contest; (2) you own all rights to the entry, and Sponsor’s use of it as allowed in these rules will not infringe or violate anyone’s copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other rights; (3) the photo shows only food and setting you have the right to show, and contains no people, no other brands’ logos and nothing obscene, offensive, unsafe or unlawful; and (4) the recipe, when prepared as written, is safe to eat and accurately lists every ingredient, including common allergens.
8. Disqualification
Sponsor may disqualify, in its sole discretion and without notice, any entry that is incomplete, late, illegible, copied, offensive, unsafe, not original, or otherwise not in keeping with these rules, and any person who tampers with the Contest, acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive way, or uses false information. Entries will not be returned or acknowledged except by the automatic confirmation email.
9. Judging
Within 14 days after each period ends, judges chosen by Sponsor will score every eligible entry from that period on these criteria: taste appeal and creativity of the recipe (40%); how well the recipe fits Monroe and that period’s theme, including how it features Monroe products where they are called for (30%); quality and appeal of the photo (20%); and clarity and ease of following the recipe (10%). Judges may prepare a recipe but are not required to. Ties are broken by the highest score for taste appeal and creativity. The odds of winning depend on the number and quality of eligible entries received. Sponsor is not required to award a prize in a period if no entry scores at least 60%, or if fewer than five eligible entries are received; those entries may roll into the next period.
10. Notifying the Winner
The potential winner will be notified by email at the address used to enter. To claim the prize, they must reply within 7 days and may be required to sign and return, within 7 days of receiving them, an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability and Publicity Release and an IRS Form W-9 (together, the “Release”). If a potential winner cannot be reached, does not reply or return the Release on time, declines the prize, is found ineligible, or the prize is returned as undeliverable, they forfeit the prize and Sponsor may choose an alternate winner from the remaining entries or award no prize for that period. A potential winner is not a confirmed winner until all of these steps are complete.
11. Prize
One prize is awarded each period: one Monroe variety pack and an assortment of Monroe merchandise chosen by Sponsor. Approximate retail value (“ARV”): up to $150. The actual value may vary and any difference will not be paid. No cash, transfer, assignment or substitution by the winner. Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a prize item is unavailable.
12. Prize Delivery
Prizes ship only to a street address in the 48 contiguous states or the District of Columbia, on Sponsor’s regular shipping schedule. Perishable items ship cold. The winner must be available to receive and refrigerate them, and is responsible for storing and preparing them safely. Sponsor is not responsible for prizes that are delayed, lost, damaged or spoiled after they leave Sponsor’s hands, or for a winner who is unavailable at delivery.
13. Taxes
The winner is solely responsible for all federal, state and local taxes on the prize. Sponsor will issue an IRS Form 1099 if required by law.
14. License to Your Entry
You keep ownership of your recipe and photo. By entering, you grant Sponsor and its affiliates a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable and sublicensable license to use, copy, edit, adapt, publish, display and distribute your entry, in whole or in part, in any media now known or later developed, for any purpose including advertising and marketing, without further notice, approval or payment. Sponsor may edit recipes for length, clarity, style and food safety (for example, adding cooking temperatures). Sponsor has no duty to use any entry. You waive any moral rights in your entry to the extent allowed by law. You understand that other people, including Sponsor, may have created or may create similar recipes, and that recipes and ideas are not owned by any one person; you agree you will have no claim against Sponsor for any similar recipe, product or content.
15. Cookbooks and Other Publications
The license above includes the right for Sponsor to select any entry, whether or not it wins, and include it in printed or digital cookbooks, recipe collections, recipe cards, product packaging, in-store materials and similar publications, including ones Sponsor sells for a profit, in any edition, format or language, now or in the future. You will not receive payment, royalties, a share of sales or a free copy for that use. Sponsor decides whether and how to credit you (for example, first name, last initial, city and state) and may publish an entry without credit. Sponsor may edit, combine, retitle, test, adjust and photograph its own version of any entry for these uses, and a published version does not need your review or approval. This permission continues after the Contest ends and cannot be withdrawn for any edition already published or in production.
16. Videos, Broadcasts and Interviews
The license above also covers video, audio and live formats. Sponsor and anyone it authorizes may prepare, demonstrate, read, describe, film and discuss any entry, and show its photo, in videos, short-form clips, livestreams, podcasts, and television, radio, print and online interviews or features. This includes Sponsor’s own websites and social media channels (such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest) and appearances by Sponsor’s team on third-party shows and channels, including paid advertising and sponsored content. Sponsor may say the recipe came from you, using your first name, last initial, city and state, or present it without credit. No payment, royalties or approval is required. Sponsor may invite a winner to appear on camera or in an interview, but appearing is optional and is covered by a separate on-camera release signed at that time.
17. Publicity
Except where prohibited by law, entering and accepting a prize is your permission for Sponsor to use your name (first name and last initial), city and state, photo of your dish, entry and statements about the Contest for advertising and publicity, in any media, without further compensation or notice.
18. Food Safety and Allergens
Recipes on Sponsor’s website, including entries and winning recipes, are shared for general use. Sponsor does not test every recipe and makes no promise that any recipe is safe, suitable for any diet or free of any allergen. Anyone who prepares a recipe is responsible for safe food handling, cooking meats to safe internal temperatures and checking ingredients for allergies.
19. Release
To the fullest extent allowed by law, by entering you release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and the officers, directors, owners, employees and agents of each (the “Released Parties”) from any and all claims, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising from or related to the Contest, your entry, participation in any Contest-related activity, the preparation or eating of any recipe, or the receipt, use, misuse, storage or consumption of any prize, including any claim for personal injury, illness, death, property damage, or violation of publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights.
20. Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Released Parties from any claim, loss or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your entry, your breach of these rules or the promises you made about your entry, or your violation of any law or anyone’s rights.
21. Limits of Liability
The Released Parties are not responsible for: (a) lost, late, incomplete, damaged, misdirected or unreadable entries; (b) technical failures of any kind, including computer, network, server, software, email or website problems, or human error; (c) incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or any equipment or programming; (d) unauthorized human or automated intervention in the Contest; or (e) any damage to any person’s computer or device related to the Contest. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, PRIZES ARE AWARDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND IN NO EVENT WILL THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR MORE THAN THE ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COST OF ENTERING (IF ANY), AND IN NO CASE MORE THAN $100 IN TOTAL.
22. Changes and Cancellation
Sponsor may cancel, end, change or suspend the Contest, or any period of it, if fraud, technical problems, a virus, bug, unauthorized intervention, a change in law, or any other cause beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control corrupts or affects its administration, security, fairness or proper operation. In that case Sponsor may select a winner from eligible entries received before the action, or award no prize. Sponsor may also update these rules for future periods by posting the change on this page. Any attempt to deliberately damage the website or undermine the Contest may violate criminal and civil laws, and Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent allowed by law.
23. Disputes
Except where prohibited, you agree that: (1) any dispute, claim or cause of action arising from or related to the Contest or any prize will be resolved individually, without any form of class action, and exclusively by binding individual arbitration under the Consumer Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court; (2) any claims, judgments and awards are limited to actual out-of-pocket costs of entering (if any), and in no case attorneys’ fees; (3) you waive any right to claim punitive, incidental, consequential or any other damages, and any right to have damages multiplied or increased; and (4) you waive any right to a jury trial. Any claim must be filed within one year after it arises, or it is permanently barred. These rules are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and the laws of the state in which Sponsor’s principal place of business is located, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
25. Privacy
Information collected from entrants is used to run the Contest, contact entrants and, if you opt in, send Monroe news and recipes, as described in our Privacy Policy. Sponsor does not sell entrant information.
26. Winners List
For the name of a period’s winner, send a request through our Contact page (choose the contest topic) within 60 days after that period’s winner is announced.
27. Severability
If any part of these rules is found invalid or unenforceable, that part will be enforced to the maximum extent allowed and the rest will remain in full effect. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term is not a waiver of it. Headings are for convenience only.
24. Social Media
The Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Google or any other social media platform. Entries made through comments, messages or posts on any platform are not valid; enter only at monroesausage.com/submit-a-recipe. You release each such platform from all liability related to the Contest.