SALT LAKE CITY — Bipartisan support may be hard to come by, but at this time of year, you can always count on it when it comes to Utah Apple Crunch Day.
Kent Pine of Pine Farms in Santaquin was the grower of choice for the State Board of Education’s Farm to Fork Program and the Utah Department of Agriculture, which hosts the annual event.
“I brought in 34 bushels of apples, so I brought in about 350 or 400 apples,” Pine said.
And those apples didn’t go to waste, as nearly 200 Kindergarten students in the Canyons School District wasted no time sampling the four varieties on hand.
Although a variety of flavors and fun diversions were offered, the main purpose of Apple Crunch Day is to open children’s eyes to how apples are produced for consumption.
“A lot of kids these days have never been to a farm and sometimes just think their food comes from the grocery store,” Pine said.
On Wednesday, the youngsters straightened up with the help of Pine Farm and educational materials. And it became clear that some children understood the basics.
“These are all kindergartners. You have to start somewhere, so I think over time they’ll be able to learn more about agriculture and how it works,” Pine added. Ta.
