Bike Riders Bring in 7,507 Pounds of Food!

We’re used to having big tractor-trailer trucks roll up to the San Francisco Food Bank’s loading dock – that’s how most of the 36.5 million pounds of food moving through our warehouse this year will arrive.

But last Saturday, 7,507 pounds of food showed up on some very different wheels – bicycles! It was thanks to the 4^th Annual Supermarket Street Sweep, a competition that challenges bike riders to collect and deliver food to our warehouse. One hundred ninety-eight riders participated this year, and they topped the total food collected at last year’s event by more than a ton!

There were prizes for the fastest racers to collect a list of required items from various grocery stores (with the receipts to prove it) and prizes for bikers who showed up with the weightiest loads of food.

This year’s biggest haul – a whopping 962 pounds – was pedaled in by a single rider pulling a trailer. You can see him in action, along with the other racers, in the video up above.

When the bikers arrived at our warehouse, we weighed-in each load, while organizers checked to make sure competitors had purchased all the items on their “required list.” Here’s a time-lapse video of the food as it arrived – from the first speedy competitors, to the mountains of food hauled in later by those in the cargo category:

Many thanks to the event organizers and all the participants, who provided enough food for nearly 6,000 meals! If you’re interested in joining the Supermarket Street Sweep next year, you’ll find more information here.  And you can see a gallery of photos from Saturday’s event here.