The 28th annual Gobble Gait saw residents running and walking through snow and ice for the annual Hastings Family Service fundraiser on Thanksgiving Day.
Hours before the 8:30 shotgun start, a small army of 100 volunteers worked to set up the race, blocking off streets, setting up the archway, speakers and DJ stand.
“It’s such a well-run event,” said DawnMarie Vihrachoff, Director of Philanthropy at Hastings Family Service.
This year’s race had 3,063 participants between the 8k and 2k races. Each one of those registrations can feed a family for a week, according to Jay Kochendorfer, one of the founders of the event.
As usual, Kochendorfer DJed the event he helped start, keeping the energy high despite the low temperatures.
“You just turn it on,” said Kochendorfer about his commentary.
Twenty-five-year-old David Nogel won the 8k for the men with a time of 26.13, and McKenzie Buck won the 8k race for the women with a time of 32.57.
Rounding out the top three for the men were Nick Ross in second with a time of 26.48 and James Sorensen with a time of 26.48.
For the women, Ruthie Wolkestorfer took second with a time of 33.53, and Hastings Fire Department’s very own Kiki Radke took third.
The race’s flag was once again held by National Guard members. This year Spc. Ashley Guitierrez, Spc. Jacqueline Mendez, Ssg. Josh Reece, and Sfc. Sang Mousa unfurled the flag during the national anthem and for the beginning of the race. It will be the last year the flag is presented this way as the city plans to use its new fire engine next year to hang the flag as it previously had done.
As the flag was unfurled, 15-year-old Lorilei Hartman sang the national anthem before the race.
While the holidays are generally a time of high need for Hastings Family Service, and food shelves in general, this year has shattered a number of records for need across the nonprofit’s 55 years of service.
Over the last three years the need for food assistance has increased by 180% at Hastings Family Service, with this year continuing to be the year of highest need Hastings Family Service has ever seen.
To match that level of need, donations of both food and cash have increased as well. About 40,000 pounds of food was donated in October alone to the nonprofit, and in October, Prairie Island Indian Community donated $20,000 as part of the new Island Impact Initiative designed to “create a ripple effect of generosity that drives positive change in our local communities through cultural, economic, wellness and environmental programs and partnerships,” according to the Treasure Island website.
Over at the Lock and Dam Eatery, runners and race watchers warmed up with the restaurant’s annual bloody Mary bar. Even that morning, the restaurant was receiving calls for their Thanksgiving meal giveaway that provides families with a takeaway meal for the holiday. Some 240 families requested meals.
At the same time, over the past month, Lock and Dam Eatery has been offering free meals to those experiencing food insecurity due to lack of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from the from the federal government shutdown.
Jennifer Melecio, Owner of the Lock and Dam Eatery estimates that 200-250 people have taken the restaurant up on their offer. That number is “not as many as we hoped,” said Melecio.
Gobble Gait will continue to catch those who have slipped through the social safety net from Hastings and around the area.