On October 23rd, our school celebrated NC Crunch Day, an event dedicated to celebrating North Carolina’s apple harvest. Students and staff came together to enjoy fresh, locally sourced apples from the students in culinary class, while learning about the importance of supporting local farmers. The event not only highlighted the nutritional benefits of apples but also aimed to promote healthy eating habits within our community while bringing us all together. 

The Apex Ambassadors and the Apex High School chapter of the FFA got together with the animal science, horticulture, and culinary classes and they organized a variety of engaging apple themed activities. Below are some examples of these fun events.

1. The Apple Walk
2. Tic Tac Toe
3. Face Painting
4. Apple Twister
5. Apple Balancing

I was curious to learn more about this, so I decided to check out the NC Crunch during both first and second lunches. Here’s what I found. As soon as I made it down to first lunch, I was greeted by a giant apple and it caught me off guard at first but I quickly understood the vibe. The first activity I participated in was the Apple Walk which was similar to musical chairs, just instead of chairs there were different plots on the ground with apples on them. After that, I proceeded to walk around and try some of the apple samples that were being handed out, and then I went to go check out the face-painting tables where I got my face painted. On one side of my face I got an apple with a worm inside of it, and on the other side I just got a normal apple. It was cool. The animal science class also brought down some of the animals, like the guinea pigs, Pickles and Pansy. I wanted to learn more about the people behind NC Crunch here at our school so I asked Eli Ooka, one of the Apex Ambassadors, some questions. 

Why does our school participate in the NC Crunch?

“NC Crunch is meant to support agriculture and farming here. Our school participates so we can help educate people on different agricultural and animal studies to promote healthy eating in the community.”

Is this easy to set up each year?

“NC Crunch usually reuses the same activities and is similar each year its a fairly easy event to set up and organize. The only difficult part is arranging other classes to help, like culinary students helping with the apple tasting part.”

How is this event beneficial to students?

“This event is beneficial to students because they are able to engage and learn about different agricultural studies that are taught here, and it also helps us build a sense of community with the activities and stuff we hold.”

As NC Crunch wrapped up, it was clear that people were having fun and students were brought together. From sampling different types of apples to fun games based on this everyday fruit, NC Crunch offered something for everyone. It was a great opportunity to enjoy the fall season, connect with friends, and discover a bit more about the simple pleasures that apples have to offer. We’re all looking forward to next year’s event!