Crunch time! Students crunch – and munch -- local greens
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Jami Jones, a second-grader at Shasta Elementary School, crunches on greens from Katie Swanson’s Sweet Union Farm during Monday’s Countdown to Crunch. She was among students throughout the Klamath County School District to join in the first day of a two-day event celebrating National Farm to School Month. The event is hosted by OSU Extension and Blue Zones Project.
Stephan Brown, a second-grader at Shasta Elementary School, crunches on greens from Katie Swanson’s Sweet Union Farm during Monday’s Countdown to Crunch. He was among students throughout the Klamath County School District to join in the first day of a two-day event celebrating National Farm to School Month. The event is hosted by OSU Extension and Blue Zones Project.
Klamath County School District students joined community members in the third annual Countdown to Crunch Monday, the first of a two-day Crunch to celebrate local farmers and producers and National Farm to School Month.
If you missed Monday’s event, join the second community Zoom Crunch, hosted by OSU Extension, Blue Zones Project, the district, and KFOM, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Register for the Zoom Crunch here: www.healthyklamath.org/crunchatonce
At Shasta Elementary School, the first cohort of kindergarten through third-graders on Monday crunched and munched a bag of greens from Sweet Union Farms, owned by Katie Swanson and located less than a half-mile from the school. All KCSD students received Sweet Union Farm greens with a pencil, sticker, and other fun information. Cooks at Henley High School readied the bags for all the schools.
Dawn Alexander, head cook at Shasta, told students about Sweet Union Farm and encouraged them after the crunch to put the rest of the greens on their sandwiches or hamburgers or make a salad using the dressing provided.
“I think it’s good for them to realize that they can eat food that is grown just down the street, not 500 miles away,” she said. “It’s teaching them to try something new even if they may not like it.”
The event, OSU Extension, Blue Zones Project, the district, and KFOM, is spread over two days this week – Oct. 26 and Oct. 28 – to accommodate hybrid learning in some of the schools. The next crunch will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.