MOSES LAKE — What keeps the Road Brother Motorcycle Club doing a food drive every November is the people they meet, both those who donate and those who receive the donations.
Saturday was the seventh year for the food drive; the Road Brothers set up at the intersection of Stratford Road and Mart Road, soliciting donations of food and money for people in need. The proceeds are donated to the Moses Lake Food Bank, and club members use some of the money to provide Thanksgiving baskets and Christmas presents for some families who otherwise would go without.
“The beautiful thing is, you see all sorts of people,” said David Garza — he goes by “Twinkie” in the club — one of the organizers of the food drive. “You see all walks of life.”
Some people stopped at the light rolled down a window and dropped money into the club’s donation bucket (actually Christmas stockings stapled to pieces of PVC pipe). Others pulled into the parking lot and dropped donations of food and money. The Bikers For Christ rolled into the parking lot with their donation. “We just dropped off some groceries,” said BFC member Lonnie Biddle (Bam Bam). “We all kind of support each other. We’re all in it for the same reason, for the community.”
It was another club’s charitable project that showed Road Brother members the possibilities, Garza said. “We thought, ‘what can we do?’”
The food drive was the answer, but they approached the first one with a little caution, he said. “But we had such a good time.” The Road Brothers were told about a couple of families that weren’t going to have a very good holiday. “They were in a bad spot.” So the Road Brothers made sure the family had a Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas presents for the kids.
“Moms crying, kids happy,” Garza said.
That first year prompted the Road Brothers to come back, year after year. “It feels right. Feels like the right thing to do.”
And “it’s just gotten better and better every year,” Garza said. People have always supported the food drive with donations, and it’s always a lot of fun to take the donations to the families. “What makes this such a staple is when we go door to door.”
The Road Brothers are still accepting donations. Garza said people can find out where to donate by searching “Road Brothers food drive” on Facebook.
Source: Columbia Basin Herald