With less than a month to go until The Ride For Food (coming up on September 20!), we’d like to you to meet just a few of our inspiring riders as they share why they ride:
10 miles: FIRST TIMER
“I didn’t learn to ride as a kid,” says recently-turned bike enthusiast Sam Musher, who only learned to ride a bike six years ago.
But that doesn’t stop her: “I’ve been wanting to do a ride for charity, and this is an important cause. I know that food insecurity is a big issue in the Boston area and this seemed like a small way in which I could help my neighbors.”
She’s very pleased with how responsive her friends have been. “I’m almost halfway to my fundraising goal just from a few Facebook posts,” she says.
50 miles: THE LONG HAUL
“I love charity events that also promote wellness, and my parents raised me with the idea that community service was essential for everyone to do,” says veteran cyclist Jamie Maynard.
“Lack of food is a silent need that pervades even wealthier communities. It’s a pressing issue, but one that’s solvable, and I want to be as involved as I can in helping to alleviate that need.”
“I imagine that the people receiving this food are happy that healthy food isn’t just being thrown away.”
25 miles: DRIVEN BY PASSION
Phil Olivieri is looking forward to training for his 25-mile ride: “I haven’t got out much this summer, and fall in New England is the best time.”
But it’s not all fun and games: “I feel there’s not enough being done at the federal and state levels for [hunger relief] programs,” he shares. “When they cut SNAP benefits out of the Farm Bill while giving subsidies to big corporate farms, that was really my call to action.”
Sustainability is also big in his book. “Anything that helps the environment is a big deal to me. Getting food out of landfills helps with reducing greenhouse gases, and if I can raise some money to support that, I’m all about it.”
50 miles: CAUSE TO CELEBRATE
“It turns out that the ride is on my birthday, so I figured that would be a good way to celebrate,” remarks Cris Magliozzi, who started noticing food waste by watching cafes throw away perfectly good food at the end of the day.
After noticing the food waste problem, his girlfriend tipped him off to Food For Free: “She’s very interested in food systems, and she mentioned what you’re doing for isolated seniors and others,” he shared.
Cris is now firmly on Team Anti-Food-Waste: in addition to joining our Ride team, he’s came in for his first volunteer shift last week.
WANT TO JOIN THE TEAM?
Feeling inspired? It’s not too late to join the team! In fact, we’re looking for 5-7 more riders to round out our team by the end of this week.
Feeling inspired but don’t want to ride? Consider donating to our team—all contributions made via the Ride for Food will be partially matched with bonus funds if our team raises at least $10,000. You can help us get there!
Check out all of our intrepid Riders for Food here!
Read the rest of our Summer Newsletter!
- What’s Going On Around Here? (News from Food For Free)
- Spotlight on: Project Giving Kids
