Ethan Hunger, a realtor for Bellwether Real Estate, will once again embark on his goal of burning 11,000 calories in a single day to benefit the Bellingham Food Bank on Saturday, July 8.
Hunger, 24, will start at 2:30 a.m. with a 112-mile road bike leg before tackling a mix of high-intensity interval training, running, swimming and mountain biking workouts, finishing around 7:30 p.m. Stone’s Throw Brewery in Fairhaven will host a finish-line party.
“This fundraiser is important to me because I grew up here and never once wondered where my next meal would come from,” Hunger said. “I, like many others, struggled to realize how many people need help across Whatcom County and rely on assistance from food banks.”
Bellingham Food Bank is currently seeing more than 4,200 household visits per week, Hunger said.
“That number has continued to grow at a nearly linear rate since I started volunteering there in 2021,” he said.
Last year, Hunger burned 11,719 calories and raised $42,000 for the food bank. As of Friday, July 7, he had already raised nearly $44,675 ahead of the event with the help of his 15 sponsors. His goal for this year is to reach $60,000.
“One of my favorite things about the Bellingham Food Bank is that they spend nearly every dollar raised on food,” Hunger said. “I’m just as proud of bringing a voice to the food bank and raising awareness for all the incredible work they do as I am for the money we have raised since this started. They deserve an incredible amount of praise and I hope they realize how appreciated they are by many, many people in our community.”
Hunger is accepting donations via the Bellingham Food Bank website.
