HATFIELD — A bicycling fundraiser that raised $114,000 last month for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts will provide some 342,000 meals for people in need.
Around 350 cyclists of all ages came out for the sixth annual Will Bike 4 Food ride against hunger on Sept. 25.
“We had die-hards doing the 100-mile route, and kids doing the 10-mile route…. It’s open to everybody, and everybody can have an impact,” said Chris Wojcik, marketing and communications manager for the food bank.
Since the first Will Bike 4 Food in 2011, the event has raised over $414,000 and provided approximately 1.2 million meals.
“This year was the most successful year we’ve had,” Wojcik said.
He said this is because they had the more participants, more teams, and raised more money than they have any other year. There were 38 teams of businesses, community organizations, schools, and more.
The top fundraising teams were Stop & Shop, Tighe & Bond, Great Vehicle, Barnacle John Rides Again and River Valley Co-Op.
Pictures from the ride can be viewed in the WB4F Facebook photo album, and participants are encouraged to share their own photos on social media by using the #WB4F hashtag.
The food bank will use the money to distribute more healthy food to 200 of their partner agencies, which includes food pantries, emergency meal sites and shelters.
The money raised will also help support their direct-to-client feeding programs, such as the Brown Bag: Food for Elders program that serves thousands of area seniors, and their Mobile Food Bank program, which directly delivers fresh, perishable food to under-served communities.