8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D. C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934



        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) October 11, 2002





                              MGP Ingredients, Inc.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)





           KANSAS                   0-17196              48-0531200
(State or other jurisdiction of   (Commission  (IRS Employer Identification No.)
        incorporation)            File Number)





                                1300 Main Street
                                     Box 130
                             Atchison, Kansas 66002
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)




                                 (913) 367-1480
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


Item 7.  Exhibits

     99.1 Press Release dated October 11, 2002.
     99.2 Press Release dated October 11, 2002.

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.

     Attached as  Exhibits  99.1 and 99.2 and  incorporated  into this Item 9 by
reference  are two press  releases  which were issued on October 11, 2002 by MGP
Ingredients, Inc.


SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                   MGP INGREDIENTS, INC.



Date: October 11, 2002             By:/s/ Brian T. Cahill
                                      Brian T. Cahill
                                      Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

EX-99

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  MGP STOCKHOLDERS RE-ELECT HAVERTY,
                        SEABERG, SCHRICK TO BOARD


     ATCHISON, Kan., October 11, 2002--Michael R. Haverty,  chairman,  president
and chief executive officer of Kansas City Southern, was re-elected to the Board
of Directors of MGP Ingredients,  Inc. (MGPI/Nasdaq) yesterday by holders of the
company's common stock.  Ladd M. Seaberg,  president and chief executive officer
of MGP Ingredients,  and Randall M. Schrick, vice president of manufacturing and
engineering,  were re-elected to the board by holders of the company's preferred
stock. The terms of all three expire in 2005.

     Results of the elections were announced at the company's  annual meeting of
stockholders  yesterday in Atchison.  The elections  were the only items on this
year's ballots.

     Haverty has been a member of the company's  board since  October,  1999. He
currently serves as chairman of the board's nominating committee and is a member
of its audit review and human resources committees. He has served in his present
capacity at Kansas City Southern since January,  2001, and previously  spent six
years as that  company's  executive vice  president.  Haverty has also served as
president  and chief  executive  officer of The  Kansas  City  Southern  Railway
Company, a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern, since 1995.

     Seaberg, who was first elected to the board of MGP Ingredients in 1979, has
served as the  company's  president  since 1980 and as chief  executive  officer
since 1988. He began his career with the company in 1969 and has been an officer
since 1970.

     Schrick became a director in 1987 and has been with the company since 1973.
He was named vice  president of  manufacturing  and  engineering  this past May,
prior to which he served for ten years as vice president of operations and eight
years as vice  president and general  manager of the  company's  plant in Pekin,
Ill.

     Formerly  Midwest Grain  Products,  Inc., the company's name was officially
changed to MGP Ingredients,  Inc. yesterday. The new name was adopted to reflect
the company's greatly increased focus on supplying  ingredient  solutions to the
marketplace.  The company produces an array of specialty and commodity  proteins
and  starches,  along  with  food  grade  and fuel  grade  alcohol  and  alcohol
by-products.

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EX-99

[LOGO OMITTED]                                                 [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                MGP INGREDIENTS ANNOUNCES TIMETABLE FOR RESUMING
                     DISTILLERY OPERATIONS AT ATCHISON PLANT


     ATCHISON, Kan., October 11, 2002--MGP Ingredients,  Inc., (MGPI/Nasdaq) has
announced that it is proceeding with plans to restart alcohol  production at its
Atchison,  Kan., plant, where an explosion on Sept. 13 caused significant damage
to the company's distillery operations.  "While we expect that it will take from
nine months to a year to complete the total  rebuilding  process,  we anticipate
that we could  resume some alcohol  production  at the plant within two months,"
said Ladd Seaberg, president and chief executive officer.

     Although a full damage assessment is still being completed, the company has
made a preliminary determination of equipment replacement needs and initiated an
engineering study, according to Seaberg.  Noting that no firm estimates have yet
been made,  Seaberg  stated that "we believe our insurance will be sufficient to
substantially offset rebuilding costs, as well as business interruption costs."

     Historically,  the Atchison distillery has produced approximately one-third
of the company's  total alcohol output.  During the time the distillery  remains
inoperable,  the company  believes that  production  capabilities  at its Pekin,
Ill.,  facility  should be adequate to supply regular  customers.  However,  the
company's ability to supply spot business at this time is substantially reduced.
During the past fiscal year, the Atchison  distillery produced nearly 60 million
proof gallons of alcohol.  That amount accounted for approximately 19 percent of
the company's total fuel grade alcohol  production and  approximately 67 percent
of its total food grade alcohol production.

     Because the Atchison plant's wheat-based  ingredient and alcohol production
processes  are  integrated,  the  distillery  shutdown has  interfered  with the
company's ability to produce the base raw material for specialty  ingredients at
this location.  "Fortunately,"  Seaberg said,  "our Illinois  operation has been
able to produce the base proteins and starches,  which are then  transferred  to
the Atchison facility as raw material for producing our specialty products."

     Seaberg stated that despite current obstacles,  the company has not altered
its plans to grow its  specialty  wheat-based  ingredient  sales in fiscal  2003
above the $37.4 million in sales that were realized in fiscal 2002.

     "We are more determined than ever to achieve our objectives and to secure a
bright and successful  future for the company and those we serve," Seaberg said.
"While  the  incident  on  September  13 has  partially  disabled  our  Atchison
operations,  our people have rallied in a tremendous  way and are putting  forth
great effort to overcome this temporary setback."

                                     -more-

ADD1--MGP INGREDIENTS ANNOUNCES TIMETABLE

     Seaberg  reported  that  conditions  at the Atchison  plant have forced the
temporary  layoff of 41 of the  facility's  300 employees at this time.  "We are
doing  everything  we can to  minimize  the  impact  of  this  situation  on our
workforce,"  he said.  "It is our  hope to  provide  jobs  for as many  affected
employees as possible just as quickly as conditions allow."

     Seaberg praised employees for their "patience and extraordinary performance
during this  difficult  period." He said that "while the  distillery  mishap has
thrown a number of  challenges  our way,  it has  motivated  us to  become  more
innovative in our approach to fulfilling our customers' needs."

     The  explosion  occurred  when  alcohol  vapors in the  plant's  stillhouse
apparently  ignited.  The  source  of the  ignition,  however,  has not yet been
determined.  "Thankfully,  the effects of the  explosion  were not more severe,"
Seaberg said. "Above all, we are fortunate and extremely grateful that the blast
did  not  result  in any  life-threatening  injuries."  One  employee,  training
coordinator Fred Gage, was briefly  hospitalized for burns. He recently returned
to his job after recuperating for a period at his home.

     Formerly  known as Midwest Grain  Products,  Inc., the business was renamed
MGP Ingredients, Inc. yesterday at the close of the 61-year-old company's annual
meeting  of  stockholders.  The name  change  was  approved  by  holders  of the
company's  preferred stock on Aug. 27 and was made to more accurately  reflect a
greatly  increased  focus  on  the  development,  production  and  marketing  of
specialty ingredients derived from natural sources.

This news release  contains  forward-looking  statements  as well as  historical
information. Forward-looking statements are identified by or are associated with
such  words  as  "intend,"  "believe,"   "estimate,"   "expect,"   "anticipate,"
"hopeful,"  "should," "may" and similar  expressions.  They reflect management's
current  beliefs  and  estimates  of  future  economic  circumstances,  industry
conditions,  company performance and financial results and are not guarantees of
future performance. The forward-looking statements are based on many assumptions
and factors,  including those relating to grain prices,  gasoline prices, energy
costs,   product  pricing,   competitive   environment  and  related   marketing
conditions, operating efficiencies, access to capital and actions of governments
or government officials. Any changes in the assumptions or factors could produce
materially different results than those predicted and could impact stock values.


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