A Spokesduck With a Purpose

It’s not every day that you get to sit down and talk with a 5-foot-tall duck about helping children get nutritious food. So when the opportunity arose to interview the tristate area’s coolest duck, we jumped at the chance!

Quacky, how long have you been the official mascot of Freestore Foodbank and the Rubber Duck Regatta?

I’ve been with Freestore Foodbank for 30 years,  when I was just a young duckling wanting to make a difference. It’s been amazing making friends and supporting the community. And my oh my how my family has grown!

Tell us a little about the job of being the mascot. What’s it like?

It’s the best job ever, even though some people mistake me for a chicken. I’ve learned you have to put your best webfoot and feather forward and bring a happy bill to every job, and the Rubber Duck Regatta makes that easy. I love seeing Freestore Foodbanks friends everywhere I go and getting our picture taken! You never know where I might pop up, kind of like our own game of Where’s Waldo, but it’s Where’s Quacky?

I’ve seen some pictures of you with Who Dey from the Bengals. That’s pretty exciting! Tell us about some other mascots you hang out with and what that’s like.

What?! I’m not just a mascot … I like to see myself more as a spokesduck with a purpose. I love all my mascot friends and every opportunity to meet someone new! Who Dey and Mr. Redlegs are some of my closest colleagues! We love to hang out and support each other at our events.

It must really be an honor to be part of this iconic event that helps so many children.

It is a unique way to discuss a serious subject like hunger and open the door to meaningful action in our hometown. By highlighting the issue, we can work together to address the root causes. I am here to bring awareness and understanding to how we all can help fight hunger here in the tristate.

What’s your favorite part of the regatta?

All the ducks, of course! I love swimming with 200,000 of my closest friends to support the region and getting to see the shock and excitement of the grand prize winners.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I know many of us ducks look alike, but keep an eye out for me — the coolest duck who has sunglasses on and … Buy a Duck! Feed a Child!