Time to dust off those bicycles sitting in your garage and give them a new life.
Bikes For Farmworkers is running out of bikes — fast. With fewer than 60 left, it urgently needs adult bike donations to help migrant farmworkers get around Niagara-on-the-Lake this spring and summer.
“Generally, at this time of the year, we would have at least 150 bikes all ready and refurbished to go out for sales,” said Dave Cox, volunteer with the program.
“This is the worst it’s been, and I’ve been here since 2019.”
Bikes For Farmworkers is a volunteer-driven outreach organization through Gateway Community Church, selling reconditioned bikes to seasonal farmworkers annually since its inception in 2017.
The program’s supply has been dwindling.
In 2022, the program had 420 bikes, but by 2023, that number dropped to just 368. Last year, only 150 bikes were repaired.
This year, it started with just 80 bikes — and has already sold 24.
Former NOTL fire chief Ken Eden, who co-ordinates the group, says these bikes are a key part of migrant workers’ daily lives and are the only form of personal transportation they have.
“The farmer takes them (the farmworkers) in for groceries and banking, etc., once a week, but other than that, if they want to go anywhere for any reason, visit, shop,” Eden said.
And while migrant workers generally don’t use bikes on farms, those working in greenhouses sometimes do.
“They have huge greenhouses. So they’ll actually ride them around between the greenhouses and within the greenhouses,” Cox said, adding that this shows just how essential these bikes are.
“It’s their primary mode of transportation — they really don’t have any other options, they don’t have vehicles,” he said. “It’s part of their living.”
Bikes For Farmworkers spend at least $20, often more, refurbishing each bike. The money raised from bike sales, which are $25 each to keep them affordable, goes into buying parts like tubes, cables and tires — which can be up to $30 for one.
When bikes are too damaged to fix, the volunteers salvage usable parts and store them for repairs on other bikes, which keeps costs down and makes bikes affordable for migrant workers.
So, even if the bikes aren’t winning any beauty contests, they are still incredibly useful — so bring them in anyway, says Cox.
Bikes are limited to one per year, per farmworker.
Dennis Blake, now in his third year of volunteering, said this helps ensure bikes are cared for, which in turn helps address the ongoing shortage by protecting the bikes the program has.
“If they lose the bike or it gets stolen, well, they have to wait till the following year to buy another one,” he said. “Usually, the farmer, wherever they’re working, will let them store the bikes there.”
Blake said the need for bikes is urgent as more migrants arrive.
To help, Bikes For Farmworkers is holding a bike drive on the next two Saturdays, March 29 and April 5.
The organization also offers year-round bike pickups from nearly anywhere nearby — just call 289-547-7442.
“We’ve been known to go to Port Colborne to get a couple of bikes,” he said.
The bike drive will take place at the Old Virgil public school at 1665 Four Mile Creek Rd. on March 29 and April 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will be on-site to assist with donations, Blake said.
“Hopefully, we can get some donations from the community, so that we can start building up a supply of bikes throughout the summer, to make sure we get enough for the guys,” said Cox.
The shop is open for bike sales on Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m., with drop-offs welcome during that time.
Repairs happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when donations are also accepted. Starting in May, Thursday hours will extend to 7 p.m.
