By Yifang(Evonne) Liu
Hundreds of people gathered on March 4 for the annual CHIditarod.
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The Chicago Urban Shopping Cart Race, known as the CHIditarod, is a charitable event held in the Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village neighborhoods.
To race, participants must have a team of five people, a decorated shopping cart, and bring at least 69 pounds of non-perishable food with them on the race day morning.
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This year, more than 100 teams of five people in costumes race decorated shopping carts, according to the CHIditarod press release.
Now in its 12th year, the CHIditarod –a 100-percent volunteer driven organization – has raised more than 150,000 pounds of food for Chicago’s hungry and more than $145,000 for local non-profits fighting hunger in the Chicago area, according to the factsheet published on its website.
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“This is our first time here. We heard this through our friends who have participated in the race before. It’s a great course and it’s a great vehicle to make people be creative,” Allison Gerlach, a first-time participant said.
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Since the beginning of the CHIditarod Foundation’s grand program, $95,000 has been given out to like-minded non-profits who have new and creative ways of solving food scarcity.