Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry is on the verge of an achievement that many
would not have thought possible.
Memorial Day weekend was a key training milestone, with
extended time for long rides. One thing that struck me is just how much
the challenges of this ride parallel the challenges we face ending childhood
hunger. The chefs who are riding in Chefs Cycle will raise an incredible amount of money that will enable
us to feed millions of kids. But more important, they are demonstrating
qualities invaluable to our No Kid Hungry campaign.
Much of my time on the bike this weekend felt great. But some was not so
great. High winds on several stretches slowed my progress to a crawl.
There were a few construction site detours. My chain needed to be oiled. I ran
out of Gatorade before I finished. Toward the end of one long ride my legs were
just out of gas and the left knee that I thought would bother me was nothing
compared to my right quad.
Every path has variables and adversities whose specifics may not be predictable
but that are guaranteed to surface. We see the same in our efforts to advance
No Kid Hungry. A new governor comes into office who is not as supportive
as the last. A school food service director vacancy goes inexplicably unfilled
for months. A funder we counted on gets fickle and directs their money
somewhere else. Everything takes longer than anticipated.
There are dozens of reasons to say we’ve gone as far as we can go, just as
there are dozens of reasons for getting off the bike. Many are valid. All of
them get you to the same place: somewhere short of the goal. Perhaps the
greatest challenge, whether on the bike or in our work, is the ever present
doubt, second guessing, and fear of not accomplishing what you committed,
publicly, to do.
That leaves one
indispensable quality which is what Chefs Cycle and No Kid Hungry are all
about: persistence. I always envision our No Kid Hungry team as walking on to
the field just as everyone else who has tried but failed is walking off.
I think of Chefs Cycle going a distance that no one else thought could be
accomplished, doing what Josh Wachs, our Chief Strategy Officer, insists upon
in No Kid Hungry state campaigns: “getting all the way to done.”
Participating chefs are not only raising money but personifying the role of persistence
in teaching, inspiring and leading. That’s what gives me confidence we will
succeed in achieving No Kid Hungry. 
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