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Date: 11/9/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – Before the turkey is carved and the pie is served on Thanksgiving Day, over 1,000 people will take to the streets of East Longmeadow, running and walking to help their neighbors facing food insecurity.
This year marks the 11th annual Stuffing the Pantry 5K run and 2-mile walk to benefit Open Pantry Community Services of Springfield. According to the event’s website, http://www.stuffingthepantry.org,
“We have been able to donate around $300,000 to Open Pantry over the last nine years.”
The event is organized by a large committee, with members taking on different roles, such as gathering sponsors, marketing and working on the event from the Open Pantry’s perspective. East Longmeadow-based 4RUN3 has been involved with the fundraiser for the better part of a decade. Owner Timothy Murphy said the running store and training center focuses on race coordination, runner pick-up and race times and results.
The business is also hosting a non-perishable food drive throughout November. There will also be non-perishable food collection at the race location on the morning of the run. In 2020, 1,800 pounds of food was collected, despite the race being virtual that year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, a truckload of food was donated to the Open Pantry along with over $52,000 raised by the 5K.
The money for the pantry is raised in a few ways. Runners pay a $30 registration fee and donation of a food item. Runners under age 18 pay $25 and a food donation. Registrations are $5 more on race day. The event also takes monetary donations. There are three levels of sponsorship available, for which people and businesses can have their names included on the race T-shirt and website, receive complimentary Race/Walk registrations, complimentary race T-shirts and a commemorative certificate.
Runners can register online at https://runsignup.com/Race/MA/EastLongmeadow/StuffingthePantry5k or by downloading the registration form and mailing it to “Stuffing the Pantry,” Charlie Casartello, 118 Duxbury Ln., Longmeadow, MA 01106. Checks must be submitted with registration form and made payable to Stuffing the Pantry.
Registration can also be done when picking up the race T-shirt at 7 a.m. of Nov. 24 at LENOX, 301 Chestnut St., East Longmeadow, or at 4RUN3, 78 Center Sq., from Nov. 21 to 23, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. T-shirts are only guaranteed to those who entered by Nov. 7.
Pre-COVID-19, Murphy said, the number of participants had been climbing, with about 1,100 people taking part in 2018. After the virtual race year in 2020, the in-person race came back even stronger last year with 1,300 runners.
Organizing community and charity races is common practice for 4RUN3, which opened the doors to its storefront in March 2020, just as COVID-19 was causing the state to shut down. “The community has been super supportive. Without the community, we wouldn’t be here,” Murphy said.
4RUN3 works on about 60 races per year, most of which are fundraisers for schools, community organizations or programs. Murphy explained that the store and the races go hand in hand. “When we’re out at the races, we’re promoting the store, and when we’re here in the store, we’re promoting the races,” he said, adding, “The fun part for all of us is being out in the community and going to the events.”
Part of the enjoyment Murphy receives from the races is seeing the same faces year after year. Speaking of the Stuffing the Pantry 5K, he said, “Honestly, it’s turned into a local tradition. A lot of the people who run are in town visiting family, so they run, then go have dinner and enjoy the day.”
The racecourse can be found at https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/1790441066.