Lettuce Run on Thanksgiving 5K for the Friendly Fridge BX

Please join the Van Cortlandt Track Club for our second Lettuce Run on Thanksgiving 5k to raise money for the Friendly Fridge Foundation, which was created with the sole purpose of supporting the Friendly Fridge BX with the goal of rescuing and redirecting even more food into the community through outreach and action. The need is so great and the opportunity to effect change is enormous.

The community has been so supportive that the Friendly Fridge BX is now in need of a more permanent location to take in more food for redistribution, but they need the funding to cover the annual rent. We have a lofty goal for this race, more than our club has ever raised in a single event, but we know our community is strong and runners value access to healthy food so we have faith that we will come together and raise the money they need. 

Since we are doing this on a holiday and know people need to get back home to be with their families, this will be an untimed fun run so there won't be any awards or race numbers but we should have some great raffle prizes!

Why Do We Need the Friendly Fridge BX?

Did you know that a single head of lettuce can take up to 25 years to decompose in a landfill, giving off harmful methane gas the whole time? And at the same time, so many folks in the Bronx are hungry. Food waste is an environmental disaster that can be easily transformed into a hunger and environmental solution. Since the Friendly Fridge BX’s inception, it has grown from a small sidewalk community refrigerator that was plugged into a local restaurant to a community food hub with hundreds of volunteers that now rescues and redirects over 67,000 lbs of good, healthy food every month! Our community has a lot to be proud of!!!!

The Friendly Fridge BX is helping anyone with food insecurity without questions, judgment or condemnation. Working mothers who are stretched thin financially. Families who are working hard to do right by their children but are having financial difficulty to make that happen consistently. It is also helping senior citizens whose fixed income has not kept up with the rising cost of living. These older folks who are suffering indignation while counting costs at the grocery checkout and foregoing medical help because they simply can’t afford it.

Right now, the inflation of food costs has put a strain on so many individuals and families. Every day the Fridge sees families who need to choose between paying basic living expenses over purchasing healthy food.  The overwhelming need from the community has been met with donations from individuals, small businesses, and institutions. Volunteers pick up food from bakeries, pizza parlors, restaurants and schools around the clock to help get it into the hands of people in need.  With your help, the Friendly Fridge BX can reach their goal of doubling the amount of healthy food they rescue from community partners to share with folks who can really use it.

So come and run with us!!!!  This is a family-friendly event, all abilities are welcome! If you're not interested in running the 5k, there will be a 2k walk and we will have kids races will start at 9:30am so bring the whole family! We will have giveaways and all money raised will go to support the Friendly Fridge BX and their goal to eventually open a storefront to serve the community. Since we are doing this on Thanksgiving and we want to make sure everyone can get home to cook, this will be an untimed fun-run so we won't be giving out awards but we will have goodies and giveaways and maybe even a raffle... 

Read more about the Friendly Fridge here. If you aren't able to join us on Thanksgiving, please consider donating, every contribution helps keep more food from the landfills and gets it to someone who needs it.

Sponsorships are available:

Fruit Tier ($250)  

• Recognition on the Friendly Fridge Bx website  
• Logo on Friendly Fridge Food Hub sponsorship banner which will be hung alongside the current 
• Social media shout-out  
• Two complimentary race entries

Veggie Tier ($500)  

• All Fruit benefits  
• Logo featured on participant T-shirts  
• Four complimentary race entries 

Potato Tier ($1,000)  - The Northstar Group

• All Veggie benefits  
• Dedicated social media post  
• Company name mentioned in press releases  
• Six complimentary race entries

Dessert Tier ($3,000)  - Thank you to our Sponsors J & N 

• All Potato benefits  
• Booth space at the event  
• Eight complimentary race entries

Main Course Tier ($5,000)  

• All Dessert benefits  
• Speaking opportunity at the event  
• Premium location on sponsorship signage  
• Ten complimentary race entries

Banquet Tier ($10,000) Thank you to a very generous Anonymous donor!!

• All Dessert benefits
• Speaking opportunity at the event
• Twenty complimentary race entries 
   

Goods & Services Sponsors:

Van Cortlandt Park Alliance
Van Cortlandt Track Club