Bicyclists Help With Food Drive During Cranksgiving Event

COLUMBIA, MD — The fifth annual Cranksgiving will be Nov. 8, offering residents the chance to bike on trails while gathering food donations in time for the holidays.

Participants will bike from their homes Nov. 8 and pick up requested food items from the grocery store of their choice. They'll drop those items off at the Plaza at the Mall in Columbia near Seasons 52 in downtown Columbia between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Registration is free and participants only need to buy the food they plan to donate. The first 100 registrants will receive a shirt.

Participants also can join members of the Howard County Police Department’s Community Outreach and Pathways Section on a group ride starting from The Other Barn in Oakland Mills, 5851 Robert Oliver Pl. Columbia, to the Mall in Columbia and back. The group ride will start at 10 a.m.

Columbia Villages, along with any other interested communities, will be competing to see who can donate the most. Each village will have a designated table, staffed by a volunteer provided by the Downtown Columbia Partnership, where residents can drop off their contributions. At the end of the event, organizers will announce the winning village based on the total donations received.

For more information about the event, to see what food items are needed and to register, click here.