The 2025 South Dakota Crunch-Off is underway and continues through Oct. 31.
The South Dakota Crunch Off is an annual, statewide event meant to highlight farm-to-school programs during national Farm to School Month– which is in October– while also celebrating locally grown fruits, vegetables, nuts, popcorn and meat.
Anyone can participate by “crunching” into a locally grown food item and sharing their crunch event. To register, visit extension.sdstate.edu/events and search “crunch.” Crunch teams can include schools, childcare sites, offices, youth clubs, families, friend groups and more.
To participate in the multi-state competition, organize a team, choose your crunchable item, create your event and then share it. Events must be registered to count. States competing in South Dakota’s region are Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. The goal is to achieve the most per capita “crunches” into local produce, nuts, popcorn and meat.
Once completed, participants are encouraged to share their participation on social media using the hashtags #SoDakCrunch and #MountainPlainsCrunch.
They’re also encouraged to share their participation with local radio stations, local print media, newsletters, local cable access channels and more. There are promotional templates available on the SDSU Extension event page.
In 2023, South Dakota had 2,749 crunches from 15 cities; in 2024, there were 6,562 crunches from 15 cities.
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