Whitehall Middle School students gathered on the football field Wednesday afternoon to join a county-wide effort to set a world’s record for the most students eating an apple at the same time. From left, T.J. Smith, Travis Nelson and Gerald Rodriguez make

Students in Montague Area Public Schools, Whitehall District Schools, North Muskegon Public Schools, Reeths-Puffer Schools, Oakridge Public Schools and Muskegon Public Schools gathered at their respective schools and football stadiums on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 2:12 p.m. and each ate an apple at the same time. The number 212 is significant because at 211 degrees, water is still liquid, but at 212 degrees, action happens.

Along with the world record, this event was a joint effort to encourage healthy eating as part of the 1 in 21 campaign, a project to make Muskegon the healthiest county in Michigan by 2021.

“Under the new guidelines in the USDA’s Hunger Free Healthy Kids Act students are required to take a fruit or vegetable with every breakfast and lunch served. This event helps remind students of the importance of eating healthy,” said Whitehall/Montague Food Service Director Dan Gorman.

Last year’s total, which was a world record, was 9,329. This year’s total was 8,251. According to Gorman, he believed the number is lower because the apples used this year weren’t Michigan apples.

“There was such a bad crop of apples this year that we had to use apples from somewhere else,” Gorman said. He said he thought some schools may have thought that the event lost its “luster” because of that.

But while this event did not create a new world-record, Gorman is optimistic. He hopes the event can continue in years to come, and will hopefully make new world-records if the entire county participates.