Transportation Demand Management is partnering with the Crimson Cupboard Food Pantry on a new initiative called the Kindness Commute Campaign during the Thanksgiving season.
Students, lecturers and employees can log in your miles sustainable transportation, such as walking, cycling or scooter rides, and TDM donates $ 1 per mile, up to $ 1,000, to Crimson Cupboard. The initiative started on November 1st and runs until November 20th.
Anna Dragovich, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator and Bicycle Manager, said the campaign was a great way to achieve both her department and the Crimson Cupboard’s goals. The partnership will encourage students, faculty and staff to use sustainable transportation while helping students struggling with food insecurity, she said.
The options for sustainable travel are on foot, by bike, by bus, car pooling, by motorcycle, moped or scooter or skateboard, Dragovich said.
Brandon Shurr, director of Crimson Cupboard, said he looks forward to the awareness this partnership will bring to both sustainable transportation and pantry. He said he hoped it would introduce more people to the prominent issue of food insecurity at IU.
“It sensitizes people who may not be aware of the Crimson Cupboard Food Pantry and may also be unaware of the food insecurity issue on the IU campus,” Shurr said.
He said after the campaign he hoped more people would use the pantry, be it for their resources or volunteer to help when they are able. By learning the pantry, he said, the IU community could realize that they need their services or are able to devote time or donations to them.
“I hope it brings awareness to a new group of people who may not have had a chance to learn about the pantry,” Shurr said.
David Smiley, senior lecturer in the Department of Health & Wellness Design at the School of Public Health, said sustainable transportation is an important practice in reducing climate change.
“We are all struggling to prevent the Earth from rising temperatures by doing everything in our power to stop or eventually stop climate change,” said Smiley. “And of course travel and tourism have a big influence.”
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He said the city of Bloomington has done a great job promoting more sustainable travel by making it easier to travel by bike or use electric cars by adding more bike lanes and electric charging points in parking garages for cars. Students, he said, make up a large part of the city’s traffic.
“If we can get more of this population to walk, bike, and use other modes of transport, it will help the city as a whole,” said Smiley.
Smiley said the partnership between TDM and the Crimson Cupboard is a great way to make change in the city. He is excited to see the results, he said.
“I like that Transportation Demand Management will be contributing to the Crimson Cupboard,” said Smiley. “I think this is another perfect example of how you can try to promote more of this action.”
