Maxey Elementary School fourth grader Anna smiled as she gave an applelicious crunch in her school cafeteria this fall.

Hundreds of other Mustangs wore similar grins as they celebrated Apple Crunch Day with their meals. Lincoln Public Schools Nutrition Services included Jonathan apples in lunches at every school building to promote the value of locally grown foods. The activity encouraged students to become more knowledgeable about fruits, vegetables and other healthy items that appear on their trays each day.

Anna said she liked how her apple tasted. She sat next to several friends who also took bites of their apples at the same time.

“I like that they’re crunchy and juicy and healthy,” Anna said.

Maxey Parent Teacher Organization volunteer Ashlee Hendricks said it was fun to watch that type of enthusiasm spread across the Maxey cafeteria. Hendricks spoke to students in each grade level about Apple Crunch Day while they sat at their tables. She told them they were part of the Mountain Plains Crunch Off, which is a multi-state project to celebrate Farm to School Month in October.

“I think seeing the kids be excited about local fresh produce is amazing,” Hendricks said. “It’s fun to teach them and be able to share that this is a local apple grown near here, and that they know they’re taking part in that experience. It’s supporting local farmers, and they feel like they’re a part of that.”

LPS Director of Nutrition Services Andrew Ashelford said the school district was happy to participate in the Crunch Off. Students in eight states – Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming – are participating in this fall’s event. There were 96,431 people who took healthy crunches of food across Nebraska last year.

“As I was walking around the lunchroom, a lot of students were excited,” Ashelford said. “Today at Maxey, we saw a lot of students all take a bite of an apple at one time, and that was really exciting to see them be excited about school lunch and school meals. I think it’s just great to incorporate local produce, local items and celebrate what school lunch does for students.”

Ashelford said LPS chose apples for the project because the fruit is popular among all grade levels. The Maxey apples came from Schweizer Orchards in St. Joseph, Mo., which is 145 miles from Lincoln. LPS defines the word local as being within 250 miles of the city.

LPS supported many farmers, gardeners and ranchers within that area this past school year. LPS spent $1.1 million on local dairy products, $143,177.49 on fresh produce and $45,026.70 on chicken in 2025-26. The Nebraska produce list included cucumbers from a farm in Dwight, watermelon from Ashland, green peppers from Norfolk and broccoli from Abie.

“We do have many other items,” Ashelford said. “Cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet mini peppers, horn peppers, all colors of bell peppers. They’re on the menu to celebrate Farm to School and to get local produce into school menus.”

LPS Nutrition Services employees begin planning menus for the upcoming school year each February. They contact many farmers and producers to inquire about available items for students. They determine quantities, ensure that foods meet strict safety standards and arrange for the products to be delivered to the LPS Nutrition Services distribution warehouse.

Hendricks said many people appreciate those efforts. She grew up on a small dairy farm and began helping with the Maxey Garden Club last year. She felt events like Apple Crunch Day would show farmers, producers and ranchers how their work directly benefits thousands of students.

“The more as a community that we can support our small farms and support what they’re doing is always good,” Hendricks said. “Their food is healthy for our kids.”

Many foods appear in LPS meals during harvest times in August, September and October, but the Farm to School initiative continues throughout the year. LPS offers an “Eat Local Nebraska Thursday” menu item each month for students to enjoy. Each cafeteria includes signage about where different foods are grown and the delivery distance to Lincoln.

Those actions are paying dividends with LPS students. Many Mustangs grabbed square containers of fresh apple slices during their Apple Crunch Day meals, and they display the same interest with other kinds of foods. Anna said she enjoys eating a wide variety of fruits such as apples, bananas, strawberries and blueberries both at school and home.

Ashelford said activities like Apple Crunch Day provide key lessons for students about the benefits of eating high-quality foods grown in the Midwest.

“It’s an educational tool,” Ashelford said. “Maybe students don’t know apples can be grown or are grown in Nebraska or how they’re grown, so that can be a discussion point today as we’re celebrating Apple Crunch Day. It’s just a good, exciting way to kind of teach kids in an informal process where foods come from.”

Discover more about the healthy meals that LPS Nutrition Services employees provide students.

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