To coincide with this year’s Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM), BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) is partnering with Food Share and organizations across Canada for The Great Big Crunch! Schools and organizations all over BC will be crunching on healthy produce at 11:30am PST on Thursday, March 4, 2021 to raise awareness for healthy snacking!

Registration

Pre-register online here to participate in The Great Big Crunch.  You can sign up for yourself, your organization, your class, your school, your whole school district! We want count the crunches towards the grand total no matter when you did it or how you crunch. Plus, you can receive a certificate for your crunching to proudly display to everyone!

About

The Great Big Crunch is an annual Canadian moment of anti-silence where everyone gets together and bites into crunchy fresh local produce in unison! The symphony is loud as hundreds of thousands of people munch on apples, carrots, or other crunchy produce and celebrate healthy snacking! BC schools and organizations will be crunching on March 4 (with other provinces crunching later in the month).

Participation in The Great Big Crunch promotes agriculture awareness and highlights the availability of fresh produce as the centerpiece for activities related to cooking, nutrition, growing, compositing, sustainability, community, development, and more. For educators, The Great Big Crunch is a valuable opportunity for teachers to get students excited about nutrition. Whether students participate in a full day of activities, an afternoon, or just one big crunch, they will come away worth an enhanced interest in and understanding of local produce from farm to cafeteria!

How to Participate

Download FoodShare’s free educational activities for The Great Big Crunch online here to connect your crunch to math, science, language arts, and more! Purchase crunchy produce (like apples, carrots, or cucumbers), use your BC School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program fruits and veggies, or have a “bring an apple to school/work day” (or other crunchy fruits for veggies) to create a synchronized crunch on March 4. Crunch down at 11:30am on March 4! If you need to crunch at a different date or time, that‘s okay too – everything counts!

Partners

• FoodShare
• The Coalition for Healthy School Food
• Food Secure Canada
• Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C)

About CALM

The 10th annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (#CALM2021) takes place in March 2021. This coast-to-coast national program encourages K-12 students to learn about and celebrate Canada's incredible agriculture and food story all month long. By connecting classrooms and homeschools with engaging resources, programs, and initiatives, students learn first-hand about Canada's food and agriculture systems. 

Spread the Word

Spread the word and share photos, quotes, or stories of your participation in The Great Big Crunch on social media with the hashtag #greatbigcrunch and #CALM2021. 

Please tag BCAITC and FoodShare on social media: Instagram and Twitter: @bcaitc and @FoodShareTo;  Facebook: @bcagintheclassroom and @FoodShareTo.