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National Apple Month

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Fall apples at Bloomingdale Farmers Market, a park side street location, on Wednesday, November 9, 2014, in Washington, D.C. This market is located in an urban neighborhood where it may be a challenge for some to get to a grocery stores and carry purchases home. They accept the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits using the Electronic Balance Transfer (EBT) card. They also accept Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Farm

Submitted by Rashaan Jeffery, Public Affairs Specialist

ST. PAUL, MINN, Oct., 6,  - National Apple Month is celebrated in the month of October. Tis the season for apple recipes and apple sales. Originally founded in 1904 as National Apple Week, it was expanded to all of October, and became National Apple Month.

According to US Apple, the 2021 economic footprint of the apple industry resulted in the employment of 149,408 employees, $8 billion in wages, $2.1 billion in tax revenue, $11.8 billion in value added, and $22.8 billion in output.

Apples in Minnesota

According to the University of Minnesota, apples are a $14 million dollar industry in Minnesota. The state has commercial apple orchards in 78 of its 87 counties, producing roughly 16 million pounds of fruit annually. There are 330,600 acres of apples in the state.

University of Minnesota Apple Varieties

The University of Minnesota started a breeding program in 1878, from which 28 apple varieties have been released. All the current U of M varieties are listed in this link, many of which you can purchase from local nurseries and orchards.  

The apple was chosen as one of the 10 Plants that Changed Minnesota because of the great impact it has had on Minnesota. There are more than 115 retail orchards throughout the state, selling a distinctive assortment of apple varieties. Check out Apples - Minnesota Grown for apple orchards near you.

10 Fun Facts about apples

  1. The earliest apple pie recipe is from England, dating all the way back to the 14th century.
  2. According to the USDA, the average American eats about 16 pounds of fresh apples each year, which is a whole lot of apples.
  3. There are about 7,500 apple varieties worldwide. Check out Apple Varieties - USApple to see the varieties we have in the US.
  4. Crabapples are the only apple that is native to the US.
  5. We’ve lost many apple varieties. Ones that didn’t travel well for commercial sale or were grown by one or two local farms have been all but lost. There are regional non-profits dedicated to finding and preserving “lost” heritage apples! To date, there have been more than 1,000 varieties found!
  6. Bobbing for apples was originally a Celtic New Year’s tradition to determine one’s future mate.
  7. Apples are 25% air, so they float in water.
  8. To make one gallon of apple cider requires around 35 apples.
  9. Roses and apples are related. Apples, peaches, pears, and plums are all from the Rose family.
  10. Apples are loaded with antioxidants, fiber, and Vitamin C.