It was a beautiful summer day for Bike to the Beat, a full day of bike riding and food stops for close to three thousand people. At the end of the day, some of those stops had a lot of leftovers. Knowing that’s the case every year, the organizers of the event reached out to us for help. It was a perfect fit. Proceeds from the event supports the Fox Cares Foundation and one of its missions is to fight hunger!
Bike riders could choose their routes, ranging from 7 miles to 53 miles. Along the way, the family fun event included 7 music and food stops. You have to refuel to put in those miles! Many of the routes started and ended at Christ the King Church in Combined Locks where volunteers treated bikers to pre-race and post-race food. At the end of the day, our Vice President Scott Dohms arrived to pick up the leftovers. And there were a lot of leftovers!
In fact, there were enough leftovers to fill the Trim Hunger car, including the back and front seats! Volunteers helped Scott load our mobile food pantry with bananas, string cheese, bread, buns, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, pizza, ketchup, mustard, peanut butter, and jelly. Wow!
Trim hunger car arrives at bike to the beat
Scott said the event organizers were elated to know that the food wasn’t going to go to waste. “The coordinator and other volunteers were there were extremely appreciative that there was a food pantry like Trim Hunger that is mobile and can transport food to those that can use it.”
Trim hunger delivers bike to the beat leftovers
Scott delivered most of the food to a maternity home that provides free housing and support for women and their young babies. Scott says when he arrived with the Trim Hunger car full of food they were overwhelmed with the generosity. It turns out the food came at a great time as they weren’t able to get to the store for needed supplies that weekend.
Scott still had a lot of bananas left over, and the Kaukauna Public Library said they could use them! Our volunteer Lorrraine, bless her heart, is always willing to help us out in a pinch. She headed over there the next day with a car full of bananas. Not only does the library feed students during the summer months, they have a free food pantry . On this particular day, they welcomed extra guests for Asian Cultural Day.
bike to the beat bananas find new home at library
Thanks to Trim Hunger for the banana donation today! With such a busy day of events at the library, they went fast!
-Kaukauna Public Library
Trim Hunger loves to help out in this way. We partnered with our friends at Fox Communities Credit Union to make a difference for an event that was already doing great things. They had a successful day raising money to fight homelessness and hunger. And we were able to keep excess food out of the landfill and put it to good use. It’s all about a community coming together for the greater good!