Celebrate Food Day and National Farm to School Month in Montana by crunching into locally and regionally grown apples on Friday, October 24, 2014 at 2 p.m. MST. Last year, more than 11,000 children and adults across Montana participated in “Montana Crunch Time.” We encourage all Montanans to join the crunch this year! Grab an apple, your colleagues, family, or friends, and join us for the loudest crunch yet! This collective crunch encourages healthy eating and supports Farm to School and Buy Local initiatives throughout the state. It also a fun way to connect food and nutrition into learning from science to art. Farm to school programs benefit our local economies. According to the USDA Farm to School Census, Montana schools purchased over $1 million on local foods in the 2011-12 school year. The Office of Public Instruction, Montana Team Nutrition Program, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), FoodCorps Montana, Eat Right Montana and other statewide partners have created a guide to help every Montanan crunch into a delicious apple this October. For more information about Montana Crunch Time, to register and receive your guide and other resources, visit opi.mt.gov/Farm2School. Make sure to collect a “crunch byte” (video, photos, or audio) and share your crunch by tagging with #MontanaCrunchTime on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites.