CHARLOTTE — Molly Barker is passionate about fighting food insecurity.
“It’s almost unfathomable that we have people who are hungry if you really think about that, in a nation where there is so much wealth,” she said.
She’s no stranger to the work of helping others. Barker is the founder of the Charlotte-born nonprofit Girls On The Run, now celebrating 30 years of empowering millions of girls across North America to be their most authentic selves through running.
“If there is one person lacking, that first just feels inhumane to me, but it’s also a reflection on everyone else,” she Barker told Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis.
While she no longer leads the nonprofit, she’s still doing the work. She’ll soon be a a special guest at the Tour de Turns — a charity bicycle ride and walk that benefits the food pantry Nourish Up. It’s a fitting event for Barker who is also a former Olympic trials cyclist.
“It’s a ride through neighborhoods of Charlotte, and it’s got the most amazing family feel to it or camaraderie feel to it,” she said.
Since 2012, the event has raised more than $500,000 to help fight local hunger.
Barker said she became keenly aware of the prevalence of food insecurity in Charlotte in 2017 when a complex torn down in her neighborhood for high-end condos left current, lower-income residents scrambling with little notice.
“It gives me chills to talk about it,” she said. “That I could be that adjacent to people who were struggling to get food.”
Barker hopes this event inspires others to dig deep and help out their neighbor.
“When everyone in a community thrives, the whole community thrives,” she said.
Tour de Turns will be held Saturday, Aug. 22. Learn more about the event and register here.