Greensboro Burrito Bikers: One year of feeding the homeless
On a Sunday morning in late October 2009, Hayes Holderness headed out on his bicycle with a backpack full of hot egg, sausage, cheese, and hash brown burritos, to provide breakfast to residents of a homeless tent city, and thus, Greensboro Burrito Bikers was born. Soon, other riders joined him, and throughout the winter, they served about 20 homeless people every Sunday morning at various camp sites.
In an effort to serve more homeless and hungry people, the group eventually moved to a stationary location in downtown Greensboro, and now, as Greensboro Burrito Bikers nears its one-year anniversary, Holderness and a team of volunteers are feeding 40-50 people on Saturday mornings at 8:00 a.m. on the sidewalk outside of Center City Park at the intersection of Friendly Avenue and Davie Street. (Update from Hayes: Burrito Bikers fed 65+ people on Saturday, October 23rd!)
Holderness was inspired to begin this feeding ministry after riding along with his brother Tommy’s Burrito Bikers group in Charlotte. After his niece rode with the Greensboro group this past winter, she started a Burrito Bikers group in Chapel Hill, and they’re already making news (here and here).
As Greensboro Burrito Bikers continues to grow and serve more homeless people, they welcome and need volunteers and donors.
Volunteer opportunities include:
- Making breakfast burritos (can be made during the week and frozen)
- Coming out on Saturday mornings to serve and spend time with homeless and hungry breakfast guests
Donate breakfast items:
- Breakfast burritos (or other filling main item, such as breakfast sandwiches/biscuits with eggs and/or meat)
- Bottled water
- Coffee, cups, sugar, creamer
- Bananas
- Snack crackers
- Financial donations (costs about $50 to serve 40 people)
To learn more about Greensboro Burrito Bikers, and how to volunteer and donate, visit their web site and join them on Facebook.
Update — Photos I took when I hung out with Burrito Bikers on 08/28/2010:
1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Yet, for many, the stigma associated with the illness, can be as great a challenge as the disease itself. This is where the misconceptions stop. This is where bias comes to an end. This is where we change lives. Because this is where we Bring Change 2 Mind.
I read a lot of stories about homeless people who are “down on their luck” because of losing jobs, especially in this economy. But I do a little checking (learned while doing case management) and often find criminal history that indicates bigger issues (which may well have contributed to the loss of employment.) Homelessness is a complex problem. To really end it, you have to address the root issues.