BISMARCK – The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) is encouraging groups to participate in the Mountain Plains Crunch Off in celebration of Farm to School Month in October. North Dakota is competing with seven other states to see which state can get the most “crunches” into a piece of local produce, per capita.
“We are encouraging students, teachers, farmers, parents, community members and local food enthusiasts to participate,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “The Crunch Off is a great way to celebrate Farm to School Month and supports local agriculture.”
Those interested in hosting a Crunch event should register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/79XXHNM to be counted in the state total. Crunch events may be held anytime through Oct. 15, 2021. A complete Crunch Off Toolkit may be obtained by visiting https://www.nd.gov/ndda/2021-crunch.
The Crunch Off is one of many educational activities NDDA will be promoting as part of Farm to School Month. Each October, schools, farms, communities and organizations across the country celebrate food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with local ingredients during the event. Farm to School Month was created to spread awareness about the national Farm to School program which supports students eating more locally produced fruits and vegetables and encourages education on food production and eating local.