St. Louis restaurants will raise money for cancer research Aug. 5 and again in September

On Friday, Aug. 5, A World Without Cancer Day, dozens of St. Louis restaurants and retail stores will donate between 5% and 38% of their day’s profits to Pedal the Cause, a nonprofit organization that raises money for cancer research. Some of the participants include Bowood by Niche, Butler’s Pantry, Sidney Street Café, Sugarfire Smoke House and UKraft. A full list of participating businesses is available online.

The Aug. 5 fundraiser is a warmup for the main event at Chesterfield Mall in September, beginning with Taste the Cause on Sept. 23, followed by two days of Pedal the Cause Sept. 24 and 25.

Taste the Cause, launched in 2012, is the food event that occurs on the Friday before two days of bicycle rides to help raise extra money. Every year, some of St. Louis’s top restaurants venture out to Chesterfield Valley to give out samples of their food. Tickets for Taste the Cause are $50 for non-riders and are free for all riders. Restaurants participating this year include Mai Lee, Pastaria and Ices Plain & Fancy. “I think it’s only natural that we combine some of the best food in St. Louis with our efforts to support some of the best research anywhere in the world,” said  Pedal the Cause executive director David Drier.

The nonprofit began in 2009 when an idea came to Bill and Amy Koman: to give back to a place that had helped them through a difficult time in their lives. Bill Koman is a two-time survivor of lymphoma who was treated at Siteman Cancer Center. Since Siteman had given him so much, he wanted to help them in return. Thus, Pedal the Cause was born. “We have a mission for ‘a world without cancer,’ and we feel that our best way to help achieve that is through engaging innovative cancer research with some of the best research minds in the world, which happen to be here in St. Louis,” said Drier.

Drier noted that Aug. 5 is a “cause marketing day” for Pedal the Cause. “Our restaurant partners both on Aug. 5 and Sept. 23 are so important to the Pedal community. Feeding the Pedal family is no small feat, and the nourishment that it brings and the excitement that it brings adds to the success of Pedal,” said Drier. For more information, visit pedalthecause.org.