THUNDER BAY -- It might not have been heard around the world, but there was a loud crunch heard throughout city schools Thursday.
More than 5,500 students in 24 schools within both Lakehead Public Schools and the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board participated in the Great Big Crunch during the lunch hour.
The Big Crunch had city students taking a bite out of a fresh, healthy snack with a crunch to it like carrots and apples. Students at St. Thomas Aquinas School bit down simultaneously on carrots from Belluz Farms shortly after 1 p.m.
The event is part of an nationwide initiative started by FoodShare and was brought to Thunder Bay schools through a partnership between Roots to Harvest and the local chapter of the Canadian Red Cross.
Red Cross district branch manager Rob Kilgour said the event is one way of building on the importance of nutrition and local food to students’ health and education.
“We know fresh food is just that much better in terms of nutrition than something that comes in on a truck,” said Kilgour.
The Red Cross has a food logistics coordinator who is responsible for finding healthy and accessible fresh food for breakfast programs and other student nutrition programs.
“We really want to build that connection locally and that’s what I think we’ve been able to do,” said Kilgour.
And events like the Great Big Crunch make it fun for the children.
“You really do need to make an event enjoyable for the kids. Something that sticks in their minds and really is a bit of a trigger to eat healthy and do the right thing and put clean food in your body,” said Kilgour.
“To be healthy, to be strong, we want to do something that really catches their attention and having fun like this – biting down on a great Belluz carrot is just the thing.”
