For the second year in a row, Gentle Giant Moving Company of Seattle volunteered to rescue any unused food and beverages from the Rock 'N' Roll Seattle Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 5K.
After the athletes crossed the finish line, claimed their medals, and took photos with their loved ones, they needed to replenish the thousands of calories they just burned off. The race organizers had boxes upon boxes of energy bars, bottled water, and sports drinks at the ready to refuel the ravenous runners. Thousands of pounds of food and beverages, however, went unused.
Fortunately, Gentle Giant was there to pick up anything that was leftover. Crew members loaded 27,000 lbs. pounds of non-perishables onto the truck and delivered it to the Rainier Valley Food Bank. The donations will go a long way toward helping to fulfill the nearly 5,000 requests for food RVFB receives every month.
Since 2016, Gentle Giant Moving Company's branches have rescued more than 100,000 pounds of food/drinks from races all across the country.
Earlier this year, Gentle Giant’s crew in Washington, D.C. recovered nearly 21,000 pounds of food/beverages from the Rock ‘n’ Roll D.C. Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, and 5K and delivered it to the Capital Area Food Bank.
The crew in Seattle picked up 17,500 pounds of sports drinks, water, and fruit from the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle Marathon last June. In July, Gentle Giant of Brooklyn recovered nearly 3,000 pounds at the New York City Triathlon. On September 18, the teams in Philadelphia and Chicago combined to collect over 13,000 pounds of food and beverages at races in their respective cities. And on November 12, Gentle Giant Moving of Charlotte picked up 2,100 pounds of bottled water from the Charlotte Marathon.
The Gentle Giant team is doing an amazing job, but with 42 million Americans facing hunger each day, we need more help! Contact Emily today to inquire about race picks ups in your area, or e-mail Kara to discuss other food rescue opportunities in your community.
Interested in hosting a food drive in your community? Learn how Move For Hunger can help!
