The Great big
crunch 2026
Thank you to everyone who joined the Virtual Great Big Crunch and took part throughout
February, March, and April.
Together, 240,135 participants (and counting!) crunched in classrooms, homes, workplaces, and online in support of healthy school food for children and youth in Canada.
Credit: Rachel Cheng
Let us know how you'll crunch
Help us keep track of all the crunches taking place this year.
We want to count your crunches towards the grand total, no matter when you do it or what you crunch.
Invite your classroom or your whole school! You can ask colleagues, or friends and family to join your crunch! If an in person crunch is not possible, plan an online video call.
The Great Big Munch
and other activities
Get ready for a taste adventure with the brand new activity in our Activity toolkit,
the Great Big Munch!
We're celebrating cultures and countries where apples don't quite cut it, shining a spotlight on the amazing versatility of bananas.
By diving into this tasty journey, you're not just munching – you're championing cultural exchange through the global magic of bananas.
Join us for a flavor-packed escapade that's all about embracing the incredible diversity of our world!
Share your crunch
Take a photo of your Crunch and share on social media, which helps us make even more noise for healthy school food.
Here’s a message you can copy and paste:
We took the #GreatBigCrunch to celebrate #HealthySchoolFood!
Tag us on
Facebook: @CHSF.CSAS
Twitter@C4HSchoolFood
Instagram:@thegreatbigcrunch
The 2025 Quebec Great Big Crunch
In October 2025, the Quebec Chapter launched the very first edition of Quebec’s Great Big Crunch — a province-wide celebration that invited students, teachers, parents, community organizations, and partners to crunch together in support of healthy school food.
Across the province, participants grabbed a crunchy fruit or vegetable and took a collective bite with classmates, colleagues, friends, and family to show their support for nourishing school food environments.
Relive the experience! Watch the event below!
If you would to learn more, we invite you to discover here:
Great Big Crunch 2026
On March 26, students, educators, families, and communities joined from classrooms, schools, workplaces, homes, and online spaces to celebrate healthy school food.
A record 45,088 participants took part in the Virtual Great Big Crunch, making it our largest event to date.
This year’s event also coincided with a historic moment: the National School Food Act received Royal Assent, making the National School Food Program permanent for generations to come.
Thank you to everyone who took part and helped make this national moment so meaningful.
We were honoured to be joined by our hosts:
- Sue-Anne Banks, Indigenous Lead, Indigenous School Food Circle, Coalition for Healthy School Food
- Sébastien Desaulniers, Coordinator, Collectif québécois de la Coalition pour une saine alimentation scolaire
With special guests:
- Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)
- Everett MacPherson, Deputy Mayor, Municipality of the County of Kings, Nova Scotia
Together, participants helped lift up student voices and celebrate the important role school food programs play in learning, well-being, and belonging.
Watch the recording of the virtual event below.
Do you have feedback or ideas for next year’s event?
Share them with us using this evaluation form.
Past Great Big Crunch Highlights
Every year, students, educators, families, and communities from coast to coast to coast come together to take one big crunch — and make noise for healthy school food in Canada.
Since 2008, the Great Big Crunch has grown from a simple classroom activity to a nationwide movement, with tens of thousands of participants joining in every year.
Each Crunch builds momentum for strong, universal, and sustainable school food programs that nourish children and youth across the country.
Explore the highlights from past years, watch recordings of our national Virtual Crunch events, see who joined us as special guests, and relive the incredible energy that continues to drive this movement forward!
Highlights from the 2026
Great big Crunch
All over Canada, many of you showed your support by participating in the Great Big Crunch.
Take a look below at some of the videos of all the participating schools and organizations!
All Videos
All Videos
Seoul’s Universal School Food Programs: Lessons for Canadian Cities | Webinar
Brant Food for Thought
West Hants Middle School
Gaspereau Valley Elementary School
Great Big
Crunch
2026
How many crunches?
A word from Ontario's Minister of Children, Community and Social Services
In 2024, Ontario's Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Michael Parsa, took part in this year's Great Big Crunch on behalf of Ontario Premier, Doug Ford, and the entire Ontario Government.
Listen to what he had to say!
Highlights from Politicians
IN Canada
Across Canada, several MPs showed their support for the Great Big Crunch! Here is the list of MP's who showed their support:
Hon. Randy Boissonnault - Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
Hon. Tim Houston - Premier of Nova Scotia
Hon. Shaun Chen
Hon. Stephanie Kusie
Hon. Marilyn Gladu
Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley
Highlights
from
social media
We wanted to thank each and every one of you by showing highlights of some of the photos of
the Great Big Crunch that you shared on social media!
Get on the
school food map!
THE GREAT BIG CRUNCH is a Canada-wide movement and annual moment of anti-silence in which students, teachers, parents and others passionate about food join the food movement and crunch into apples (or other crunchy fruit or vegetable) to make noise for healthy school food!
Since 2008, Canadians from coast to coast have participated in the Great Big Crunch, an original initiative of FoodShare Toronto. The Coalition now hosts the annual Great Big Crunch, developing a toolkit for schools and focused on federal advocacy.