2016 Great Big Crunch challenges Canadians to focus on Children's Nutrition

Since 2006, over 750,000 people have participated in the Great Big Crunch, an annual moment of anti-silence where Canadians come together and bite into crunchy, fresh, local produce in unison.

MARCH 2, 2016 (TORONTO) – This March, Canadians from coast to coast are readying their noisiest crunch to bring attention to the issue of children’s nutrition.

The 2016 Great Big Crunch, founded and coordinated by FoodShare Toronto, is a fun initiative to get kids, educators, parents and politicians to think about the impact food has on our kids while making a whole lot of noise!
 

How does the Great Big Crunch work?

• Kids and schools from across Canada register before crunch day online at http://foodshare.net/program/crunch/. Participants can sign up individually, by class, by school and/or school board!
• FoodShare provides fun, curriculum-linked lesson plans and activities to bring the Crunch to life.
• On March 10th, 2016 everyone gets together and takes a synchronized bite at 2:30pm EST. Participants share their crunch photos/video on Twitter using the hashtag #greatbigcrunch.
• Participants also get a Great Big Crunch Certificate to proudly display on the wall.
• Take the Great Big Crunch Twitter challenge! Pledge to take the #greatbigcrunch, and challenge your friends, family and co-workers to do the same! Share a picture of your crunch using the hashtag #greatbigcrunch, tag @FoodShareTO and @FoodSecureCAN, and we’ll share your crunch far and wide! Make up your own or use this sample Tweet: Making some noise for #nutritionmonth with a #greatbigcrunch @FoodShareTO @FoodSecureCAN

“The Great Big Crunch is a great way for children, their parents and teachers to celebrate healthy snacking and to promote the need for healthy, local food in schools,” says Debbie Field, Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto.

“We are incredibly excited by the national support and attention the Great Big Crunch has generated for kids’ nutrition,” says Diana Bronson, Executive Director of Food Secure Canada (FSC). “We have a lot of work to do as a country to improve quality of access for kids and the first step is awareness.”

The Great Big Crunch is supported by the Coalition for Healthy School Food. The coalition is made up of more than thirty organizations across Canada, including FoodShare Toronto, and is focused on making sure all Canadian students have access to healthy food at school every day.

Food Secure Canada, which coordinates the Coalition, is a pan-Canadian alliance of organizations and individuals working together to advance food security and food sovereignty through three inter-locking goals: zero hunger, healthy and safe food, and sustainable food systems.

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For more information about 2016 Great Big Crunch and for national media requests, please contact:

Sophie Nadeau Media Consulting
info@sophienadeau.com, 613-266-7587

For Toronto media requests:

Katie German, Field to Table Schools Manager, FoodShare Toronto
katieg@foodshare.net, 647-268-4559
 

Highlights:

• This year, to promote the Great Big Crunch, politicians of all stripes are gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 10th from 10:00am to 2:00pm to show off their best crunching skills and support for healthy school food programs in Canada. Details to follow.
• In New Brunswick the District Scolaire Francophone Sud et Sud-Est signed up their whole school board for the Great Big Crunch - that’s 15,816 students across 39 schools!
• In Thunder Bay, several schools have signed up to crunch on carrots, highlighting the Great Big Crunch’s focus on snacking on local produce that is available in your own region.   
• Students at Brock Public School in Toronto will be sharing emails with an elementary school in Nicaragua to tell each other about their favourite crunchy local foods in their community.