Mechanics Grove students voted with their teeth when it came time to choose their favorite tasting apples. The choices were simple: green or red.

The tasting was part of the Illinois Great Apple Crunch, an initiative of the Illinois Farm to School Network, brought to District 75 schools in October by the D75 Wellness Committee with support from the D75 PTO. The D75 Wellness Committee purchased local apples for the event from Goebbert's Farm & Garden Center.

The event, held during National Farm to School Month, is designed to teach students where food comes from and to support healthy eating habits. After crunching on a few bites of green and a mouthful of red apples, students dropped tickets into a can to cast their vote on which they liked better.

The Illinois Crunch is part of the Midwest Great Apple Crunch, which is also celebrated in the neighboring states of Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Schools, early child care facilities, and other child education programs across Illinois participate by serving local apples on the lunch tray or in the classroom, and ‘crunch’-ing into them all at the same time.

The Illinois Farm to School Network helps participants locate local orchards and provides promotional tools and educational supplements that teach students all about Illinois apples.

It was the first Apple Crunch held by the D75 Wellness Committee. Crunching and voting was done during lunchtime. And - in case you were wondering - the red apples won. By a landslide.