We came, we crunched, we made applesauce! Each year Big Apple Crunch events celebrate Food Day and raise awareness about local agriculture and good food access by bringing people together to bite into apples in unison (hoping to break the world record set in 2013!)

Today the New Harlem East Merchants Association continued this tradition uptown at La Marqueta, organizing a a morning of apple activities, games and tastings for East Harlem youth to learn, eat and play.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, and Community Board 11 chair Diane Collier led crunches throughout the morning, and uptown organizations led activities like face painting, apple stamping, apple trivia, and served up healthy apple snacks. Lorne Feldman, a trained pastry chef and Institute researcher working on our good food jobs projects, led a demonstration of no-sugar added applesauce.

Thanks to all who made today a success- especially NHEMA dynamo Carey King!

CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute staffers, from left: Sarah Garza, Charita Johnson, and Lorne Feldman.