Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, people have been working to find ways to use their bikes to help meet community needs. Mike Lang and Maxwell Burton have been organizing people with bikes to help transport food from food banks and other food resource programs to people who need it. And their efforts has grown into the Seattle Pedaling Relief Project, a “grassroots, volunteer-run, cargo bike powered crisis response group” with a growing list of opportunities for volunteers to help out.
You can find their volunteer signup forms on their website. There is currently delivery work for El Centro de la Raza Food Bank, Rainier Valley Food Bank and Food Rescue for Byrd Barr Place, but check back as new ones are added. You can also sign up using their general aid form. Cargo bikes are not required, but let them know if you have one.
More details from SPRF:
We are a grassroots, volunteer-run, cargo bike powered crisis response group on a mission to strengthen the already existing mutual aid networks in our local communities. We work in community with our partner not-for-profits to extend their reach and connect more and more families and individuals to the resources they need.
Our volunteers transport produce from p-patch gardens and urban farms to neighborhood food banks. We also organize rides for volunteers to deliver directly to community members on behalf of food banks. Ride distances and time commitments vary. We welcome anyone who is available to get out and pedal. We can also hook volunteers up with equipment.
We’ve emerged during these particularly hard times in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, we’re in this for the long haul. White supremacy is and has been the crisis. We recognize the greater systemic disasters out there and we are on a mission to dismantle structural oppression—combating food insecurity in the meantime. We believe bicycles are a tool for empowerment. We invite you to use the tools you have to help us increase food security in our area. We look forward to meeting you!
