Buncombe Co. cyclist rides nearly 1,500 miles to raise awareness of hunger & giving farms
FAIRVIEW, N.C. (WLOS) — A mountain bicyclist hopes to bring an important conversation to the table as he rides nearly 1,500 miles round-trip to raise hunger awareness, raise money, and draw attention to nonprofit giving farms.
"I'm like so excited for it," Gabriel Whitlock said, leaving fertile farmland at The Lord's Acre in Fairview to take his a message on the road. "I'm really excited for conversations that will come out of, 'Well, what are you doing?'"
They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and cycling is how Gabriel hopes to make some noise about food insecurity in America.
Whitlock is riding from Fairview to an agriculture conference in Little Rock, Arkansas.
"Inherently it brings attention, attracts attention," he said. "It really gives people access to what I'm doing unlike if I took a plane to Little Rock. "
"The people I stay with, it'll be a great opportunity to share a meal and have a soft lead in to agriculture and the things we've done at the garden," he says of the road ahead. "Giving gardens can literally transform our food system. I think they fill a gap, there really isn't any other way to fill it."
Last Summer, Gabriel interned at The Lord's Acre. It's a nonprofit giving farm that donated nearly 160 thousand servings organic produce last year.
"This is a really important way to reach folks who don't have access to high quality fresh produce," explained.
Gabriel envisions a day when giving farms make a huge dent when it comes to food insecurity.
"We want to be able to put ourselves out of business. We want to be able to fill the gap so well that we aren't needed anymore," he told News 13.
Far from a leisurely ride, his bike tour is driven by a lofty goal to eliminate hunger.
"Folks will eventually have access to high quality fresh produce whenever they need it no matter their socioeconomic background," Gabriel said.
Click here if you would like to pledge support for the ride.
