What rain? Almost 28,000 turn out for Run to Feed the Hungry, raise $900K for charity

Rainy skies cleared just in time for more than 27,700 people to race through the streets of East Sacramento Thursday in the country’s largest Thanksgiving Day run.

The turnout for the 26th annual Run to Feed the Hungry was higher than last year, though not as many as 2017’s roughly 29,600 participants, said Blake Young, president and CEO of Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

The event raised more than $900,000 for the food bank, which is serving an increasing number of local families each year, Young said.

“To feed 150,000 to 160,000 people a month and provide the services we do is pretty expensive,” Young said. “The community has stepped up this year. We raised (money for) more turkeys than we ever have, we’re feeding more families than we ever have.”

The organization earlier this week donated more than 17,600 turkeys to families in need — about 1,200 more than last year. In 2008, the food bank donated about 2,700 turkeys.

The 10K race was won by Seth Totten of Santa Barbara, who crossed the finish line in 29 minutes, 25 seconds. Jane Kibii of Auburn was the top female finisher, at 34 minutes, 6 seconds.

Young said he is grateful so many families have made the race an annual family tradition.

Troy Devine and her children, Cassie and Cade Cunningham, have been running the race for years. This year, they recruited four high school friends to join for the first time.

“You gotta get people out there,” Devine, of Yuba City, said. “It puts you in the right frame of mind.”

Alan Kent, 60 of Yuba City, also ran the race for the first time this year after his daughter asked him to, he said.

He had not done any running in about two years, so he didn’t know how it would go running the 5K, but the live music and cheering kept him going, he said.

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought,” Kent said. “It’s a good cause.”

Jamie Holmes and her two 5-year-old twins, Quinn and Paige, also attend the race every year. At the starting line for the 5K, Paige, dressed as a Native American, inspired to be in the presence of so many athletes, ran away from her mother as fast as she could, and got lost in the crowd.

“She wanted to win a medal, so she sprinted,” Holmes, of Reno, said.

It was a scary moment, but the child quickly found a police officer, who carried her to the finish line, where they were reunited.

“It was great exercise for us because we ended up running the whole thing,” Holmes said with a laugh.

Holmes brings the kids to the race every year to teach them the importance of exercise and giving to charity, she said.

Young said he hopes the race continues to grow to more than 30,000 participants. That would mean more funding to feed local families who increasingly struggle to make ends meet, despite the good economy, Young said.

“In Sacramento County, we supply the world’s food, but more people are food insecure in Sacramento County than the state or national average,” Young said. “We are nowhere near done.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2019 at 12:53 PM.