Comstock Park — “Apples are healthy for you,” said third-grader Mila Fix as she held up the apple she had bitten into during Pine Island’s “apple crunch” activity.
The entire Pine Island school — about 450 staff members and students — came together Oct. 16 to form a human apple for Michigan Apple Crunch Day. The annual event, in which students and community members bite into apples together, promotes October’s National Farm to School Month.
When produce is in season, the district tries to source much of it, including lettuce, tomatoes, plums and peaches, from local farmers, Melissa Alley, food director for Comstock Park. The apples for the event came from Conklin’s Westridge Orchards.
“This is an opportunity to educate students about healthy eating and where their food comes from,” Alley said. She noted that National Apple Day also falls in October, on Oct. 21.
For Pine Island’s activity, students formed the outline of an apple, with classes wearing either green shirts to represent the stem or red shirts to represent the fruit. Once in place, students and staff crunched into their apples together.
“America is celebrating the day because apples are really good for you and these came from a local farm that produces apples,” third-grader Elsa Gasirombi said.
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