CCS Celebrates Great Lakes Apple Crunch Day

October 12, 2021 -- To celebrate how food gets from the farm to our table, staff and students at Binns Elementary School simultaneously bit into Ohio-grown apples as part of today’s lunch.

“On three, take a big bite out of that apple,” Joe Brown, the Director of Food Services, instructed the students. “We’ll all go crunch together.” 

Binns Elementary and dozens of schools throughout the District are participating in Apple Crunch Day. Ohio is part of a consortium called Great Lakes Apple Crunch. It’s a day to create excitement about apples because many apples are grown in the great lakes region, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.

“It’s important that children know where our food comes from, and as a large urban school district, sometimes food is not always grown close to home and school,” said Joe Brown. 

The excitement over apples was evident in the Binns cafeteria. There were bushels of apples on tables covered with apple tablecloths. Some kindergarten students wore apple t-shirts, pants with apples on them, and boots decorated with apples. One five-year-old even had her hair done in two buns on either side of her head adorned with red and green apple-shaped ribbons. 

Five-year-old Izzy shared that her mom did her hair for school today, and “she likes both red and green apples because they are sweet and sour.” Another third-grader said she knows “apples are healthy, and that’s why she eats them.” 

She’s not alone. Columbus City Schools students consume about three million apples a year. 

“Students love them, and because apples are plentiful in this region, apples are economical for the District,” said Brown. 

Because the District was completely remote last fall, Apple Crunch Day was canceled, but with the return to in-person learning this school year, the celebration was on just with fewer students in the cafeteria. 

“The pandemic has thrown a wrinkle in things for sure, but that doesn’t mean we should celebrate what’s important,” said Brown.