NYAA-sponsored Big Apple Crunch will have 2 million+ New Yorkers crunching local apples on Oct. 19

Fishers, N.Y./New Orleans – They call New York the Big Apple for a reason! On Oct. 19 at 2:00 pm, an estimated 2 million-plus New Yorkers will participate in the 2017 Big Apple Crunch, crunching into locally-grown, New York state apples at events across the state. New York Apple Association (NYAA) is sponsoring the fifth annual Big Apple Crunch with host FarmOn! Foundation.

Participants in this year’s Big Apple Crunch events, including children and adults alike, will simultaneously take a big bite out of New York state-grown apples to raise awareness about the importance of supporting local farms and New York state agriculture. Big Apple Crunch events will be held at schools, offices, GrowNYC Greenmarkets and anywhere else fans of local apples and local agriculture want to congregate.

Again this year, crunchers can also participate in a Big Apple Crunch Challenge to vie for a Farm On! Victory Garden for their local school. NYAA is sponsoring the $1,000 scholarship to fund the edible garden and related school educational opportunities. Participants who post a tagged video of their Big Apple Crunch on social media by midnight on Oct. 20 will be entered into a raffle for the garden scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to the raffle winner’s school of choice.

Organizers are expecting this year’s Big Apple Crunch to be the largest yet.

“We are hoping to shatter the world records set by previous Big Apple Crunch events, and get more than 2 million New Yorkers eating a New York apple and showing their support New York state apple growers – needless to say, that’s incredible consumer visibility,” stated NYAA President Cynthia Haskins.

The 2015 event set the first record when 1,000,000 New Yorkers participated; the 2016 event broke that record with 2,000,000 participants.

The 2017 Big Apple Crunch is hosted by Farm On! Foundation in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. It is sponsored by NYAA and GrowNYC, which hosts New York City’s famed Greenmarkets. Edible Manhattan is media sponsor. Big Apple Crunch was originally created in 2012 through a partnership of GrowNYC and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy.

For more information, visit www.bigapplecrunch.squarespace.com.

Note to editors:
Photos from previous Big Apple Crunch events have been posted to NYAA’s Flickr photo-sharing site, download them with NYAA’s and Farm On! Foundation’s permission for editorial use at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyapplecountry/albums/72157688198811953.

About New York Apple Association, Inc.
A nonprofit agricultural trade association based in Fishers, NY, NYAA represents the state’s commercial apple growers. The grower-funded association supports profitable growing and marketing of New York apples through increasing demand for apples and apple products, representing the industry at state and federal levels, and serving as the primary information source on New York apple-related matters. For more information, visit www.nyapplecountry.com.

About Farm On! Foundation
Since 2011, FarmOn! Foundation has been making a difference in the Hudson Valley and New York state by inspiring, educating and preparing youth for successful careers in sustainable farming and connecting our agricultural community to urban marketplaces to foster rural prosperity. For more information, visit www.farmonfoundation.org or contact Tessa Edick, phone (518) 329-FARM, email tessa@farmonfoundation.org.