355 Miles to Break Cycles of Hunger: Ryan Wahler is a Changemaker
Most of his classmates were thinking about summer plans after they got home. Instead, rising Carnegie Mellon University Senior Ryan Wahler was putting a lot of thought into how he was getting home.
Deciding to bike 355 miles on the Great Alleghany Passage and C&O Towpath from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Washington, DC, he realized he had an opportunity to make it more meaningful and turned the ride into a Facebook fundraiser help feed his neighbors in need!
Proud graduate of Towson High School, Ryan’s inspiration came from his previous experience gleaning nutritious produce with the Maryland Food Bank’s Farm to Food Bank partner, First Fruits Farm.
Ryan shared that what motivated him to volunteer in high school was still strong enough to drive him to create this more recent changemaking activity.
“I knew that kids just like me have to go to school on empty stomachs and don’t get the chance to eat throughout the day, that simply didn’t sit right with me.”
Due to Ryan’s passion for helping others, thousands of neighbors will be able to access nutritious meals through both the Maryland Food Bank and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
About The Author
Ben Gross
For more than 30 years, Ben has been helping organizations raise awareness and inspire action by creating compelling narratives. And since 2018, Ben has been the Maryland Food Bank's Staff Writer, elevating the voices of food-insecure neighbors to further the Maryland Food Bank's mission of feeding people, strengthening communities, and ending hunger for more Marylanders.
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