Tyler Zipperer/Courtesy photo
Article by Cody Jones @ SummitDaily
With the holiday season officially underway, Biked Goods founder and Summit County resident Tyler Zipperer is once again working to help the community any way he can.
Similar to his other give-back campaigns, Zipperer will be working to address food insecurity within the community. According to No Kid Hungry, one and five kids in the United States live with hunger. Although Summit County is a ski resort community, many families and children are also dealing with food insecurity.
“I have always tried to use my business as a way to give back to youth organizations that either help get kids out on bikes or help feed kids,” Zipperer said, while referencing how the government shutdown and SNAP funding restrictions had an effect on Summit residents.
After forging a partnership with Mountain Dweller Coffee Roasters over the summer, Zipperer talked with owner Beth Johnson about coming together to find a way to feed kids over the holiday season.
From that brainstorming session, Zipperer and Johnson decided to offer a fundraising campaign at the coffee shop throughout the month of December.
Wanting to provide meals to as many kids as possible, Zipperer has partnered with Mountain Dweller Coffee Roasters, CreativCat, and Biked Goods in order to sell his Morning Shift Granola at the coffee shop.
The chocolate chunk flavored granola has been made personally by Zipperer and will serve as a way to raise funds for Smart Bellies to purchase the food necessary to fill its holiday meal boxes.
Five dollars from every bag sold will go to Smart Bellies with every $25 that is raised helping to feed a family. Additionally, every donation to Smart Bellies in December will be matched.
“We have a $1,000 goal that we are trying to meet,” Zipperer said. “There are several ways that people can contribute to that. Mountain Dweller also serves breakfast items and they have yogurt parfaits, so if anyone orders a Morning Shift yogurt parfait, a portion of sales will also go (to Smart Bellies). During checkout, customers will also have an option to make a donation that will go directly to Smart Bellies.”
In addition to offering the granola fundraiser, Zipperer will be making granola to help fill Smart Bellies’ holiday meal boxes. For the fourth consecutive year, Zipperer will be working with the Team Summit mountain bike team to make granola for Smart Bellies’ holiday meal boxes. Team Summit will be joined by athletes from The Cycle Effect, marking a new partnership ahead of the holiday season.
Zipperer and the group of youth athletes will produce the granola at Cool River Coffee House in Breckenridge. The annual baking day will take place in the middle of December ahead of the meal boxes going out on Dec. 19.
In an effort to get the ingredients necessary to make all the granola for the meal boxes, Zipperer has launched a GoFundMe campaign. Zipperer is looking to raise $350 for ingredients and people can give money by visiting GoFundMe.com.
It is Zipperer’s love for being able to move outdoors that has ultimately fueled him to give back to any kid who may be going hungry.
“I think about myself personally,” Zipperer said. “Being fortunate enough to buy groceries to feed me and my family to do the things we love whether it is hiking, biking, running — anything like that. To have a kid that faces (food insecurity) is hard for me to think about.”
As a board member for the National Center of Youth Development, Zipperer believes there is strong evidence to suggest that when kids are fed they have a firm foundation to learn, develop and grow.
“Knowing the power of food and what it can do to bring people together is why I do this,” Zipperer said. “I hope to share and spread that message to anyone I work with whether it is Team Summit, The Cycle Effect or anyone in Summit County.”
None of Zipperer’s fundraising efforts would be possible without the incredible community partnerships he has established over the last several years.
“It takes a village to raise kids in the community,” Zipperer said. “I can’t do this alone, especially in light of SNAP being restricted. We need to change the way we approach issues like these. There is no way it can be done alone. A lot of people I have worked with have put in endless time. I cannot thank them enough.”
For more information on the Mountain Shift Granola fundraising campaign, visit BikedGoods.co/shift.