Cranksgiving facts for kids
| Santa Cruz Cranksgiving Cyclists Planning Routes.jpg | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Alleycat |
| Type | Charity |
| History | |
| First edition | 1999 |
Cranksgiving is a special yearly event. It's a fun bike ride that helps people in need. Cyclists ride their bikes like in a scavenger hunt. Along the way, they buy food items. All the food collected is then given to local food pantries. These food banks help families who need food. Cranksgiving usually happens around the American Thanksgiving holiday.
How Cranksgiving Started
The very first Cranksgiving happened on November 20, 1999. It was started in New York City. A bicycle messenger named Antonio Rodrigues had a great idea. He wanted to use a type of bike race called an alleycat to help others.
An alleycat race is usually a fast, unofficial race for bike messengers. But Cranksgiving is different. It's been called "part bike ride, part food drive, part scavenger hunt." It's all about helping out!
Cranksgiving Grows Big
Cranksgiving quickly became popular. By 2009, 118 people joined the event in New York. Similar events also started in more than a dozen other cities. That year, the New York event gathered over $1000 worth of food. This food went to local food pantries.
In 2015, 300 people took part in New York. They collected a huge amount of food. This included about 3,000 pounds of food. They even collected a dozen turkeys and 600 jars of baby food!
By 2019, Cranksgiving was held in many places. There were 112 events in 42 states across the United States. It also spread to the United Kingdom and Canada. For example, in Kansas City, over 20,000 pounds of food were collected.
In New York City, there were three separate events in 2019. These were held in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Citi Bike even offered free bikes for the event. The Seattle event collected over 2,200 pounds of food. Another event in West Seattle gathered nearly 1,200 pounds.
In 2020, an event in State College, Pennsylvania, had 89 riders. They collected over 1,400 pounds of food. This food was worth almost $2,500.
How the Event Works
Cranksgiving events follow a basic plan. But each city can add its own fun twists. Generally, riders get a list of grocery stores to visit. They also get a shopping list of food items to buy. Riders decide their own best routes to get to the stores.
There is no entry fee to join Cranksgiving. However, riders usually spend about $15 to $20 to buy the food items. At the end of the event, all the food is collected. It is then donated to a local charity or food pantry. This makes Cranksgiving a fun way to help people in your community!
Images for kids
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A shopping list for Cranksgiving
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A cargo bike loaded with food collected during Cranksgiving
