Joliet food bank welcomes Indiana man walking across U.S. to end hunger

The Joliet location of the Northern Illinois Food Bank welcomed an Indiana resident who’s tackling food insecurity one step at a time.

Brian Christner, otherwise known as Blackberry Brian, because he owns and operates a blackberry farm in Indiana, is hiking the American Discovery Trail to help raise awareness and fundraise for Feeding America.

Feeding America is a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries, according to the Feeding America website. The Northern Illinois Food Bank is in that network.

Christner’s said his reason is simple: He loves giving back.

“I was looking around at food insecurity in America, especially after everything we’ve gone through with COVID and the prices rising,” Christner said. “It’s a tough time in America. I was trying to figure out a way that I could bring some awareness and raise some money. So I came up with walking across America. It’s also a great weight loss program.”

‘I had faith in myself’

Christner said he started his journey in February from Delaware and expects to finish in December in California. As of Tuesday, Christner had raised about $7,000, he said.

“My biggest hurdle is that I have to be over the Rockies [Rocky Mountains] by Oct. 1,” Christner said. “If I’m not over the Rockies, I can’t go over the Rockies at that point because of the snow.”

Christner said he started walking 6 to 8 miles at a time over the past five years, increasing his distance to 11 to 20 miles a day starting last year.

“So I had faith in myself that I could walk across America,” Christner said.

Christner said he only walked 13 to 15 miles a day in West Virginia because the hills and carrying 40 pounds on his back gave him some vertigo. Now that he’s back on flat land, he walks 18 to 20 miles a day.

He camps, mostly, or accepts hospitality from people he meets along the way, Christner said. Once a week, he spends the night in a motel so he can shower and wash his clothes.

There is such a demand in America for food. So many people are in a vulnerable position. There is no reason why anybody in this country should go hungry: child, adult or elderly.”

—  Brian "Blackberry Brian" Christner of Indiana

However, Christner isn’t just walking, raising money and posting updates on social media. He’s distributing packets of seeds that Burpee Gardening provided to him so food banks and food pantries can grow their own produce, he said.

The packages have a QR code that takes potential donors directing to Feeding America’s donation page, Christner said on his Facebook page.

“The ultimate goal is that we want to have an America where we don’t have people needing food, where there isn’t food insecurity,” Christner said. “Until that time, Feeding America is incredible.

[ High cost of eggs hurts people who need an affordable protein source ]

‘I’m just trying to tell their stories’

Christner also visits food banks and food pantries to meet and film those who work there, he said. He wants to learn why they’re involved, to ask about the problems their experiencing and to hear their views on food security in the U.S.

“I’m just trying to tell their stories,” Christner said. “There is such a demand in America for food. So many people are in a vulnerable position. There is no reason why anybody in this country should go hungry: child, adult or elderly.”

Christner said he always wants to celebrate these people who “just go out there and help their fellow man.”

“I’m in awe of the people working the food banks, the angels, the backbone, the heart that knows in the local community who need what,” Christner said.

Steve Harold, processing coordinator at the Northern Illinois Food Bank South Suburban Center in Joliet, said Christner helped out with a couple of the smaller projects that he could easily “jump in and out of.”

“From my standpoint, I appreciated his direct involvement with our volunteers and I loved to hear his appreciation of our volunteers here,” Harold said. “As you know, volunteers are the people, outside of my coworkers, I care about most here. Without them, we can’t get as much done as we need to get done.”

[ Minooka middle school students held mobile food pantry on Saturday ]

Harold said the South Suburban Center held its fifth anniversary in May. In terms of food distribution, the center has distributed about 11 million pounds of food over that time.

“It just shows what you can do as an individual to help others with just some volunteering of your time,” Harold said,

Harold said he also appreciated key questions Christner asked, such as the level of need in the Joliet area and how many food pantries it serves.

Christner also connected well with quite a few of the volunteers and wanted to hear why they helped at the food bank, Harold said.

“One of our volunteers was asking more about what he’s doing and what he’s involved with,” Harold said. “So he’d going to send them to his social media, which he gave to us. … It’s going to be great to see what he does with all this at the end. So we’re hoping he’ll come back and visit us again.”

For information, visit hikingamerica.com/blackberry-brian and solvehungertoday.org.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 10

Feeding America supporter Brian Christner continues his walk across American with the 61 mile I&M Canal State Trail on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 in Joliet. Brian started his fundraising journey in Delaware on February 19th and expects to finish outside San Francisco in December. (Gary Middendorf – gmiddendorf@shawmedia/Gary Middendorf)