The Missouri Crunch Off celebrates National Farm to School Month by encouraging early child care programs to enjoy Missouri-grown fruits and vegetables throughout October. Participants can access a toolkit featuring activities, recipes, sourcing tips, and promotional resources to help them plan their own celebration.
October is National Farm to School Month, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is once again sponsoring the Missouri Crunch Off—a fun, tasty way to celebrate Missouri-grown foods and healthy eating!
Your Crunch Off celebration can be big, small, or anywhere in between. Serve crisp apples or other crunchy Missouri-grown fruits and vegetables at snack or mealtime, set up a taste test at pickup, or invite children and families to vote for their favorite crunch.
The best part? You choose when and how to celebrate throughout October.
Ready to Plan Your Crunch?
The Crunch Toolkit has everything you need to make your event fun and easy, including:
• Creative activity ideas
• Tips for finding Missouri-grown produce
• Easy, kid-friendly recipes
• A press release template to help spread the word about your event
Register your program, access the 2026 Crunch Off Toolkit, and start planning your celebration!
So, how will you Crunch this October?
If you have questions, contact Lisa Lauer at the Missouri Department of Health and
Senior Services at Lisa.Lauer@health.mo.gov.
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Missouri Office of Childhood Updates
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Visit https://mochildcareaware.org to learn more.