Nathalie Hernandez, a sophomore at Berklee College of Music, donned her running shoes and dashed from Summer Street to Boylston Street Saturday, but she wasn’t running merely for exercise. Instead, she was helping raise money for the needy in the Burger Brigade Dine ‘n Dash, a 3.4-mile running fundraiser sponsored by b.good, a local restaurant focused on healthy eating.
Hernandez was part of a growing revolution aimed at creating a healthier eating culture, as more people are beginning to realize that the global food industry needs major change.
First lady Michelle Obama has launched a healthy eating program for children and federal regulators have changed school meal requirements to reduce fat and salt. The number of global programs, such as Food for Progress, has significantly risen, with a mission to modernize and strengthen the agricultural sectors in developing countries. In 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 54 out of 55 U.S. states and territories requested USDA funding for local food system projects.
Those involved in the sustainability movement, as displayed by fundraiser attendees, firmly believe the quality of food and the quality of life are directly connected, and are finding creative and fun ways to get involved.
B.good, a locally-sourced fast food restaurant with seven locations in Boston, has built a team of people who are passionate about food made by “people, not factories” and hold events that reflect this concept.
One such event was the fundraiser Saturday. The event combined eating and exercise in a run to four different b.good locations in Boston. Each location provided a hearty snack — homemade fries after leg one, a side of kale and quinoa after leg two, a burger after leg three and a signature Kale Crush smoothie at the finish line.
All proceeds went to the b.good Family Foundation, a nonprofit that gives micro-grants of $5,000 to local, small-scale leaders looking to improve the community, said Allie Kroner, community development director of b.good and executive director of the b.good Family Foundation.
“We want to be that seed money for local leaders who see a problem and think of a solution on their own,” Kroner said.
Past grant recipients include the Resilient Coders, a coding club for underserved and at-risk students that strives to “connect high performers to stable careers and increase diversity in the tech sector.”
The Food Recovery Project employs volunteers to collect excess nutritional food from restaurants and grocery stores and redistribute it to organizations serving people in need.
The Ultimate Sports Program’s goal is to promote the social inclusion of kids with special needs through sports in a low-stress, fun environment.
“We want to make our restaurants vehicles for making the community better and places where people can connect,” Kroner said. “We’re all about everything real. Real food, real people, real farmers.”
With this attitude in mind, the run was not competitive. Instead, it was pure fun — a place for the community to become closer and learn a little something about a healthier lifestyle.
“We’re just going to be goofy,” Kroner said, laughing. “It’s not a 5K about timing, it’s an eating race.”
This year’s Dine ‘n Dash brought in 67 participants, over twice as many people as last year, and $1,825, Kroner said.
But b.good has only begun to make their mark. Other restaurants have joined the fight for clean eating and local farming, including Chipotle, Boloco, VeggieGrill and Panera Bread.
The fight has inspired Dara Bree, a 27-year-old Boston resident and regular participant in 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons, to “think twice about going to McDonald’s or other fast food chains.”
If the movement remains on this path, constantly attracting more caring, driven people, the world might just stand a chance.
Ben Schenck, a 24-year-old Brookline resident and the first to finish the run, had a simple view on healthy eating.
“If it’s important to eat locally, do it.”
