Get Ready...Get Set...CRUNCH!

This year, the Oshkosh Area School District is participating in the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch and Food Day event on Thursday, October 22^nd. All Oshkosh area public elementary schools, roughly 2,300 students, are anticipated to join. This is the 2^nd year schools in Winnebago County have participated.

This year’s event is organized through a collaboration with Winnebago County’s AmeriCorps Farm to School Program, re:TH!NK, Winnebago’s Healthy Living Partnership, and Oshkosh School District’s Food Service Director, Peggy West. All local apples are provided by Todd Hanson, the owner of Apple Blossom Orchard and Market, in Black Creek, Wisconsin.
The Great Apple Crunch originated in 2012 in New York City, where 400,000 people took a bite out of a locally grown apple at the same time. The event raised awareness about eating healthier diets, saving the environment, supporting local growers and farmers, and increasing access and affordability of local produce. The Great Apple Crunch event is also connected to Food Day. Celebrated on October 24^th, Food Day inspires Americans to change their diets and solve food related problems at a local, state, and national level.

Farm to School programs across the country are adopting the Great Apple Crunch event to encourage students to try and enjoy healthy locally grown food options at school and in their daily lives. Sarah Elliott, Wisconsin’s Farm to School Program Director, agreed with the cause, saying, “By crunching into an apple at noon, or a time that is best for you, you are showing your support for Farm to School and for Wisconsin farmers!”

Not only is the event raising awareness of Farm to School Programs and healthy nutrition, but it is also helping numerous local farmers across the state. Last year, Wisconsin farmers produced 42.3 million pounds of apples for local consumers, resulting in 78% of the state’s total utilized crop. Some locally grown apples one may find include: Cortland, Priscilla, Jonathan, Empire, Honeycrisp, Gala and McIntosh. For more information about locally grown produce in your area, please visit https://farmfresheastwi.org/.

re:TH!NK encourages you to support a nutritious lifestyle and locally grown produce by participating in the Great Apple Crunch Event on Thursday, October 22^nd! To register your school or business, please visit their website or Facebook page. Pictures or videos can be tagged by using any of the following hashtags on Twitter or Facebook: #GreatAppleCrunch #FoodDay2015 #F2SMonth #WIAppleCrunch.

A special thanks to Farmer Todd and Apple Blossom Orchard and Market for their support of the Great Apple Crunch! For more information about Apple Blossom Orchard and Market, visit their website: http://www.appleblossom.farm/ or call (920) 993-7277.