If you’ve followed my work — in Arkansas with Cockpit Catering or now building Crafted + Carried in Oregon — you already know this: feeding people isn’t just what I do. It’s who I am. Food is my craft, my language, my way of caring for the world.
And yet, no matter how many meals we prepare, how many programs we support, or how many communities we serve, there are still far too many kids in this country who don’t know when their next meal is coming.
That’s why I’m riding in Chefs Cycle 2025.
Not because I’m secretly an athlete (I promise you, I am not).
Not because 100 miles on a bike sounds like a soothing spa weekend.
But because hunger is real. It’s everywhere. And some stories stay with you forever.
A Story That Still Hits Me in the Gut
One Thursday before Labor Day, a little girl left her early learning center for what was supposed to be a fun four-day weekend. When she came back on Tuesday, she was ravenous. Couldn’t get enough to eat. Staff noticed immediately — you always notice that kind of hunger.
It turned out her parents had both been laid off. They were facing a choice no family should ever have to make: buy food or end up on the street.
They tried their best, but that child had spent four days with little to no food.
Four days.
That moment changed the center permanently. They made the decision right then — no more four-day weekends, ever. And they began partnering with local organizations to send snack packs home so kids wouldn’t go hungry again.
That story has never left me. It’s one of the reasons I believe so fiercely in CACFP, in school nutrition programs, in community feeding efforts, and in stepping up when families hit crisis.
Why Ride Now? Why This?
Chefs Cycle is a two-day endurance ride supporting No Kid Hungry, an organization fighting childhood food insecurity across the U.S.
I’m aiming for 100 miles — 50 miles a day — which is… bold for a chef whose version of cardio is hustling through airports and loading catering vans. But these miles mean something.
Every mile is a message:
Kids should never be hungry.
Meals should never be uncertain.
Food should never be a luxury.
And every dollar raised helps No Kid Hungry fund the programs that keep children fed when everything else falls apart.
The Impact You Make (and How We're Doubling It)
This year, Cockpit Catering will match donations up to $2,000.
Your $25 becomes $50.
Your $50 becomes $100.
Your contribution stretches twice as far — just like families are often forced to do.
This isn’t just supporting a bike ride.
This is feeding children who might otherwise go days without reliable meals.
What I Ask of You
Encourage me.
Donate if you can.
Share the mission.
Ride alongside me in spirit — because trust me, I’m going to need moral support somewhere around mile 37.
But above all, believe with me that no kid should ever return from a weekend — or a day — starving because the system failed them.
We can be the difference.
We can be the “never again.”
We can be the meal that gets them through.
And I’d be honored to have you with me.
— Chef Justin