Cranksgiving this Sunday

Bicycle riders will collect more than 1,000 pounds of food this Sunday for the 10th annual Cranksgiving food drive.

Topeka area bicycle riders hope to collect more than 1,000 pounds of food this year at the city’s 10th annual Cranksgiving event. The combination food-drive and bike race takes place this Sunday, Nov. 13th at Coffee Bar in the College Hill development. This year’s event benefits Doorstep, Inc. and is organized by the Topeka Community Cycle Project.

Registration opens at 10:00a.m., the ride will start at 10:30 a.m., and riders will have 90 minutes to collect 10 different food items from at least four different Topeka stores.

More than 150 cities in North America, including Topeka, host Cranksgiving events around the Thanksgiving holiday. The collective efforts of these events have helped to feed thousands of families in hundreds of communities.

Participants in Topeka’s Cranksgiving event can choose to race each other to complete the shopping list, or to join other community riders as part of “The Haul,” a non-competitive, family-friendly, slow-paced group bike ride to purchase grocery items with donated funds. The shopping list this year was provided by Doorstep, and includes food items which are in high demand at the food pantry.

Prizes donated from sponsors Hazel Hill Chocolate, Ad Astra Bike Co., Topeka Yoga Network, O’Kaps, and DeerSara will be awarded to winners.

Volunteer participants in Topeka’s Cranksgiving events have consistently brought in hundreds of pounds of food. This year, organizers expect that bike riders will collect more than 1,000 pounds of food, all carried by bicycle.

Event organizers have partnered with the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis group to highlight the problem of food deserts in Topeka and other communities. While food donations and charity are important stop-gaps for families experiencing food scarcity, our local and regional policies are other important tools to help make sure our neighbors always have healthy food to eat.

This ride is rain or shine; hunger doesn’t stop when it’s snowing outside.

To donate funds, please use the Paypal donation button on the biketopeka.com homepage.