Thousands of Michiganders across the state will simultaneously “crunch” into a fresh Michigan apple on Wednesday, October 25^th! This year is the fifth anniversary of the annual Michigan Apple Crunch.

October is part of Michigan’s peak apple season. October is also National Farm to School Month! Students, faculty, and school staff across Michigan celebrate the Apple Crunch as part of their Farm to School Month festivities. They have fun celebrating one of Michigan’s favorite fruits in this unique, collaborative event that supports school’s local apple growers and their regional economies.

For many schools, the Crunch is their first ever farm to school partnership. Apples are easy to find in Michigan, the 3^rd top producer of apples in the U.S. Apples are also easy transport and prepare. 

One of the goals of the Michigan Good Food Charter is to see more farm to school partnerships on a long-term basis in Michigan. The first goal of the Charter is: 

By 2020, Michigan institutions will source 20 percent of their food products from Michigan growers, producers and processors.

The Michigan Farm to Institution Network (MFIN) and the Cultivate Michigan campaign are two initiatives working encourage schools and other institutions to purchase more Michigan-grown foods, like apples. Farm to School and Farm to Institution partnerships support local growers, producers and processors, while also to increasing the amount of fresh healthy food served in institutions.

Interested in celebrating the 2017 Michigan Apple crunch? Cherry Capital Foods’ Apple Crunch website has great resources for anyone who wants to participate. Below is a video from Cherry Capital’s website of people from across the state enjoying the 2015 Apple Crunch. You can also follow the Apple Crunch on Facebook by using the hashtag #miapplecrunch