Photo credit: Lucy Fan
We present to you, Team Crankin’ Cranberries! In the photo above, from left to right, we are Lucy, John, Faith, Jane, and Ye. (Actually I mistakenly thought the team had named itself “Cranky Cranberries” so officially, we are the Crankin’ Cranky Cranberries, but.. what’s in a name.)
The ride, organized on the Saturday before Thanksgiving (Sat, Nov 21) was a free ride that is “part scavenger hunt, part food drive, and part bike ride.” A grassroots event, one of the main organizers is a cyclist by the name of Dave Boudreau. Cranksgiving was in its second year, and the goal was to pull in more than 10,000 lbs of food so that families in need in the Greater Boston area could enjoy a nice meal during Thanksgiving. The goal was achieved! (you can read more updates on the fb event page here)
Our team came together through a series of chain messages in which we realized that we all had more mutual friends in common than we thought! Then Faith joined us in Copley Square and helped us navigate the JP/South Boston area later (thank goodness also for GPS).
Our route ran from Trader Joe’s in Boston to Harvest in Central, Star Market, the Red Cross, some expensive whole foods store in JP (where I bought the most ridiculously priced can of organic cat food, but hey! somewhere there is a happy feline), a cat food shelter, another store, and finally Coppersmith in South Boston. Total cost was no more than $15 per person.
All food was donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank, Red Cross, and the Somerville Homeless Coalition. Organizing team of Cranksgiving – way to go! That was eventful, and I’m glad to have taken part in something so meaningful.