LPS celebrates Apple Crunch Day, highlighting locally sourced foods

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Students across Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) celebrated National Farm to School Month Monday by crunching into locally sourced apples during lunch.

At Maxey Elementary School, students counted down together before taking a bite as part of Apple Crunch Day, a tradition LPS has participated in for more than a decade.

The day is designed to celebrate local harvests and growers while also helping students learn more about where their food comes from.

“It provides the cafeteria as more of a classroom,” LPS Director of Nutrition Services Andrew Ashelford said. “It’s just a good, exciting way to kind of teach kids in an informal process where food comes from.”

Apples are just one of the locally sourced foods making their way onto LPS lunch trays.

So far this school year, the district has purchased more than $162,000 worth of locally sourced produce, dairy products and chicken. Other produce served by the district includes cucumbers, tomatoes and several types of peppers.

Ashlee Hendricks, a Maxey parent volunteer and Garden Club leader who grew up on a small dairy farm, said buying locally also provides support for farmers.

“Right now it’s really hard for small farms,” Hendricks said. “As a community we can support our small farmers, support what they’re doing.”

Planning for those foods begins months before they reach students. Ashelford said LPS starts working with farmers and producers as early as February to determine what they can provide for the following school year and what students will want to eat.

For students at Maxey, Monday’s Apple Crunch brought plenty of excitement to the lunchroom.

“To be excited about school lunch and school meals, I think it’s great to just incorporate local produce, local items, and celebrate what school lunch does for students,” Ashelford said.