Chicago Man Visits Zingerman’s Deli On Nationwide Trip To Raise Awareness, Funds For Hunger Crisis (M Live)
This article first appeared in M Live.
Two years ago, Steve Goode read an article about the best Jewish delis in every state. He decided to turn it into his own trip, but his wife suggested he partner with MAZON, a national organization fighting to end hunger in the United States and Israel.
Now, Goode is doing a 16,000-mile “Great American Deli Schlep” to raise awareness and funds for MAZON’s fight to end hunger through structural policy change, and he visited Zingerman’s Deli in downtown Ann Arbor Saturday afternoon.
“MAZON said this is a great way (to spread awareness) because people want to support restaurants, especially family-owned, small businesses, and it’s an adventure,” Goode said. “It’s a win-win-win situation – it sort of touches what’s going on in the world right now.”
Goode, a motorcycle enthusiast, has done three major cross-country motorcycle rides and decided to blend his adventures with his involvement in the Jewish community.
Some of his trips include a 13,400-mile journey to the four corners of the U.S., a 14,500-mile tour of all 48 contiguous states and a 17,300-mile adventure through all of the national parks in the continental U.S.
For his latest trip, Goode started in his hometown of Chicago, then traveled to Indianapolis and Louisville before arriving in Ann Arbor, where a handful of bikers met Goode to discuss the hunger crisis, how to take action for structural change and to enjoy what Zingerman’s Deli has to offer.
The hunger crisis in the U.S. and Israel impacts many people and it has to be addressed on a federal level like many other past issues, Goode said.
“The example that I use is the interstate highway system wasn’t built by one state where they fill their section and another state does another section. It was done by the federal government,” Goode said. “It really has to be approached on a national level.”
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people experiencing hunger in the U.S. rose from 40 million people to 80 million people. In Michigan, that number is 1.9 million, or nearly one in five Michiganders, according to MAZON officials.
After Zingerman’s, Goode’s 75-day deli schlep will continue on to Cleveland and then a tour of some of the best Jewish delis on the east coast, all while working to raise money for MAZON and awareness for hunger in the U.S. He plans to visit 42 Jewish delis and conclude his trip sometime in August.