It all started when Tanner Cobleigh, a December 2020 graduate of Ohio University and ROTC Alumni, had an idea. Cobleigh wanted to donate food items to the Athens County Food Pantry, but with a twist.
The pantry would receive the donations via a ruck march. A ruck march is a typical training activity that involves carrying a load over a long distance relatively fast.
"The choice to deliver the food by foot was to help benefit our cadets,” Cobleigh said in an email. “We do a lot of Rucks (march with weight), and the more often you do it, the better your body will be conditioned for that type of stress."
Cobleigh initially came to Ryan Ham, food chair of the Athens County Food Pantry, with the idea in October. The event was approved, and figuring out the Bobcat Battalion's route to march was the first step.
"My initial concern was that The Bobcat Battalion might not be aware that our facility had recently moved,” Ham said in an email. “Previously we were located on Richland Dr., just before it came to US 50/33. This path would only involve a short walk south from campus. Unfortunately, Tanner did not know that we had recently relocated to the Athens County Jobs and Family Services facility on Route 13 just outside Chauncey! This did not deter him, however, and so he set upon finding a way to reach us anyway."
Route 13 is not safe for traveling on foot, so Cobleigh suggested marching along the bike path. However, the bike path does not reach the Athens County Food Pantry. Instead, they agreed to meet just before the bike path crosses North Plains Road, or OH-682. There, pantry volunteers would be waiting with their vehicles to take the food the rest of the way. The final route was eight miles long.
Cobleigh then reached out to Rebecca Flinchbaugh, a fifth-year senior and community outreach coordinator for The Bobcat Battalion, to finish the execution of his plan.
"I am in charge of the S5' shop', which is a staff position among the Bobcat Battalion senior cadets. It is in charge of special events and community outreach," Flinchbaugh said in an email. "I help plan and execute all ruck marches for the Battalion as well as search for and provide opportunities for cadets to volunteer in the community."
For the Athens County Food Pantry ruck, she planned and coordinated the main event and donation effort. Then, she facilitated the day-of execution.
Ham and Flinchbaugh set Feb. 27 as the date for the ruck march and began working out donations.
"The biggest challenge executing the project was getting cadets to participate in donating to the cause,” Flinchbaugh said in an email. “As college students, most of us don't have a ton of extra cash on hand, especially now in our circumstances with COVID and jobs being sparse. I was absolutely amazed by the contribution we were able to attribute, as our Battalion of about 112 cadets donated approximately $800 worth of canned food. With a donation of $500 from the local Legions club, we reached $1300 in total donations providing 1,838lbs and 1,371 meals for local families!"
Ham made a personal donation to the march as well. As the primary buyer of items for the food pantry, he has to place special orders with Aldi, 932 E. State St. Instead of using the food pantry’s funds, he decided to use his own money for the donation.
Looking only at food items, October 2018 was the last donation of comparable size. This donation was also from an OU organization: the Student Alumni Board.
"We at the pantry, on behalf of our clients, cannot express how grateful we are for this donation,” Ham said in an email. “The total weight came to 1,828 pounds. This is the largest single donation I have seen as the food-chair for the pantry."
When Feb. 27 arrived, the Athens County Food Pantry was awestruck by the immense donation. That morning, cadets gathered in Bromley Hall to fill their rucksacks with at least 35 pounds of food, and a senior cadet led each formation as a front guide along the eight-mile route.
"On Saturday (February 27), myself and one other pantry volunteer parked on a pull-off near the designated hand-off location,” Ham said in an email. “As the cadets arrived around 1 p.m., they transferred food items from their rucksacks into boxes and the boxes into our vehicles. We couldn't believe the amount of food that kept coming down the bike trail! When it was all loaded, I was afraid my vehicle wouldn't even be able to move! In fact, as I drove towards the pantry, I could see that the back end was greatly weighed down – through the front windshield, it looked as if I was driving uphill, even though I was on level ground!"
The Athens County Food Pantry is incredibly grateful for and impressed by The Bobcat Battalion.
"It was a great pleasure to work with the Bobcat Battalion in the planning and execution of this monumental project,” Ham said in an email. “I get the sense they have their act together as an organization, students, and human beings in general. The pantry is looking forward to its next joint operation with the Bobcat Battalion in the fight against food insecurity. Bobcat Battalion, we salute you!"
