By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
As rising food costs and cuts to federal assistance place additional pressure on families, a grassroots effort powered by bicycles and volunteers has reached a major milestone in Seattle. Cascade Bicycle Club’s Pedaling Relief Project, which partners with Byrd Barr Place and other community organizations, has transported 2 million pounds of rescued food and essential goods to help residents facing food insecurity.
At the heart of the effort is a network of local food banks, including the historic Byrd Barr Place Food Bank in Seattle’s Central District. Operating from Firehouse 23, Byrd Barr Place has a long history of helping people move from poverty toward economic stability while working to strengthen the economic and political power of Washington’s Black community.
Through its partnership with the Pedaling Relief Project, Byrd Barr Place receives fresh produce and other donated food that might otherwise go to waste, helping the organization serve families struggling with rising grocery prices and other household expenses.
Jarvis Henderson, director of operations at Byrd Barr Place, said the milestone reflects both the growing need for food assistance and the commitment of volunteers who give their time to help others.
“This is very exciting. Two million pounds of food, volunteer bikers, and it just warms my heart,” said Henderson. “The unfortunate thing is that there’s a need for this. The beautiful thing is that there are people who are willing to step in and say, ‘I’m willing to serve on this level.’ Martin Luther King said that anybody can be great, because everybody has the ability to serve. And I look at all these great people, because they chose to serve.”
For Byrd Barr Place, the partnership provides another way to meet the needs of residents who rely on its food bank. By connecting surplus food from local businesses with community organizations, the project helps make fresh groceries available to families while reducing the amount of usable food that is discarded.
Wendy Armour, director of advancement at Byrd Barr Place, said the effort demonstrates how volunteers can make a meaningful difference by using the resources available to them.
“Today earmarks an amazing triumph for many folks who have food insecurities,” said Armour. “These bikers come together and they didn’t say, ‘Hey, I don’t have a car, I don’t have transportation.’ They’ve been using a bike to deliver just so much needed food out in the community. Everyone doing their part. That’s how we all win.”
The Pedaling Relief Project began in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when founders Maxwell Burton, Amy Korver and Michael Lang sought ways to connect surplus food with community organizations and residents needing assistance. The program became part of Cascade Bicycle Club in April 2021.
Since then, volunteers have used cargo bicycles and trailers to collect surplus food from grocery stores, distribution centers and community gardens, transporting donations to food banks and other neighborhood organizations.
Participating grocery partners include Trader Joe’s, PCC Community Markets and QFC. In addition to Byrd Barr Place, organizations receiving deliveries include University District Food Bank, White Center Food Bank, Hopelink’s Bellevue Market and Emerald City Food Not Bombs.
The operation relies on volunteer cyclists who pick up food that might otherwise be discarded and deliver it to organizations equipped to distribute it. Using bicycles and cargo trailers allows riders to navigate neighborhood streets while transporting groceries and other essential supplies.
According to Cascade Bicycle Club, volunteers have completed more than 12,500 trips and traveled nearly 38,000 miles since the project’s launch, helping serve more than 40,000 local households. The organization also estimates that bicycle deliveries have prevented more than 16.6 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Paul Tolme, media relations manager for Cascade Bicycle Club, said the program addresses the contradiction of widespread food waste occurring alongside increasing demand for food assistance.
“It’s a sad tragedy in America, this supposedly a land of plenty, where half of the food goes into the waste stream,” explained Tolme. “Pedaling Relief is reducing that food waste, and not only that, bringing it to food banks where it can be distributed to the clients and customers, and the folks who need it. So, it’s a full-circle program that’s using bikes in a very novel way. Bikes are affordable, clean, green, and nimble.”
Tolme also pointed to rising living costs and reductions in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits as pressures contributing to greater demand at food banks. For families already struggling to afford groceries, transportation, housing and other necessities, access to donated food can help ease the strain on household budgets.
That need gives the milestone particular significance for Byrd Barr Place, whose work extends beyond food distribution to addressing economic hardship and strengthening the communities it serves. The food bank’s partnership with the Pedaling Relief Project is one example of how local organizations can work together to respond to immediate needs while supporting broader efforts to reduce poverty.
The 2 million-pound milestone represents deliveries across the Pedaling Relief Project’s network rather than food delivered exclusively to Byrd Barr Place. Still, the partnership connects that regional effort directly to residents of Seattle’s Central District and surrounding neighborhoods.
Cascade Bicycle Club hopes to expand the project’s reach by sharing tools and guidance that other communities can use to establish similar bicycle-powered food rescue programs throughout Washington and beyond.
Residents interested in participating can volunteer for grocery rescue trips, community garden produce deliveries, restocking Little Free Pantries or delivering food directly to seniors and people with limited mobility.
For Byrd Barr Place, the milestone is a reminder that meeting the needs of families facing food insecurity requires both dependable community partnerships and people willing to serve. Through the efforts of volunteer cyclists, food that might otherwise be wasted continues to reach neighbors who need it.
More information about the Pedaling Relief Project and volunteer opportunities is available at cascade.org.
