For upwards of a decade, GObike Buffalo has been addressing food insecurities during the holidays by hosting a food drive event called Cranksgiving – part bike ride, part food drive, and part scavenger hunt.
The way this works is that cyclists are handed a small grocery list, upon which time they set out – by bike – on the scavenger hunt. At the end of the ride, when all of the food has been collected, participants gather together for a holiday celebration. Due to the pandemic, the holiday celebration will not take place in 2020. But that doesn’t mean that the ride is canceled. In fact, the pandemic has brought about an even greater urgency this year. All of the food that is collected will be donated to to Buffalo Food not Bombs.
So what do you need to participate?
- Bring a bike (any bike will do)
- A bag
- A lock
- A helmet
- About $10-15 to buy food
This year’s Cranksgiving ride embarks from the Hostel Buffalo Niagara (667 Main St) sometime between 11 am and 1 pm. In order to properly social distance, team (limit 4 people per team) departures will be staggered. Once teams have checked off the items on their list, they will return to Hostel Buffalo Niagara to drop off the items.
Although this scavenger hunt is not about being the craftiest, or the fastest, there are prizes awarded for certain accomplishments – winners in various categories will be announced on Monday November 9.
In order to participate in the event, cyclists are asked to preregister by 12 pm on Friday, November 6. This will allow GObike Buffalo to better anticipate the number of riders. But sometimes it’s hard to schedule a hard date, which means that in-person registration will also be accepted. After all, the most important aspect of the hunt is to collect as much food as possible, to feed the hungry during the holiday season.
According to GObike Buffalo, the most requested food items from Buffalo Food Not Bombs in 2020 are “gluten-free pasta, canned beans (black, navy, cannellini, garbanzo), oats and olive oil, as well as cat and dog food for Pete’s Pet Food Pantry.”