More than 3,000 students simultaneously bite into apples to celebrate National Farm to School Month
Did you get your crunch on?
The countdown came over the intercom at Henley Elementary School as students got ready to bite into their Oregon- grown apples: “Three, two, one … crunch!”
Students in Christy Cox’s first-grade class took big bites of their apples, some using the sides of their mouths because they were missing their two front teeth. The Henley students were among more than 3,000 students at10 schools around Klamath County who simultaneously bit into Oregon-grown apples at 2:30 p.m. today (Oct. 29) as part of the second annual Crunch at Once event.
The event, organized by the OSU Extension Service, was a way to celebrate National Farm-to-School Month.
“We can talk about the importance of eating locally grown food but actually eating the food together — what could be more fun?” said organizer Patty Case, associate professor at OSU Extension Family and Community Health. “It’s so satisfying to crunch into an Oregon apple while learning how and where it grows. It is just one way to celebrate connections happening all over the country between schools, food, and farmers during National Farm to School Month.”
As part of the event, Case worked with Chiloquin Junior-Senior High School teacher Jenny Dunham and her students to produce an educational video about apples. The video was played for students before the Crunch at Once countdown.
Klamath County School District’s Farm-to-School Program purchased some of the apples from the Organically Grown Company; others were donated by the Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank from local apple trees. Participating schools included Bonanza, Malin, Merrill, Shasta, Stearns, Henley, Chiloquin, Pelican, and Conger elementary schools and Chiloquin Junior-Senior High School. OSU Klamath Basin Research and Extension Service partners with Klamath County School District and Klamath Falls City Schools to promote Oregon-grown foods in the cafeteria.