Local organizations host three-mile walk to fight hunger

On Sunday, the 38th annual Chapel Hill-Carrboro CROP Hunger Walk took place, with over 200 individuals signing up and many local organizations making appearances and donations to help combat food insecurity in the area.

The CROP program, which stands for Christian Rural Overseas Program, was originally started by Church World Service in 1947 and now does work all across the United States. 

For this event, CWS partners with the local Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, which provides daily meals for individuals in Orange County who experience food insecurity, as well as a free community market.

The event started with participating individuals meeting at the Carrboro Town Commons. There, community members talked with one another and listened to music from the New Orleans Masquerade Band, enjoying the warm weather before embarking on the three-mile walk through Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

The hunger walk is a major event and source of donations for each program. Several local organizations participate with their members, including the Chapel Hill-Pittsboro Indian Community, Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle, the St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill and more.

For MaryEllen Biechele, a member of the St. Thomas More Catholic Church, participating was about taking part in something that she feels can often be missing from the community.

“I just felt like in our world today, we needed more people to stand up and walk and help others,” she said. “So I just wanted to participate.”

Biechele said this is the first year she participated in the hunger walk, but likes to get involved in her community when she sees an opportunity and hopes others are encouraged to do the same.

Though the Chapel Hill-Carrboro event has a solid foundation, it’s not the only place where people participate in the walk to fight hunger.

Around 1,300 other walks take place across the country throughout the year, and Durham held their own CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday. Last year, Durham’s walk was the most successful in the nation with $220,000 raised for individuals in need.

This year’s donation goal for Chapel Hill-Carrboro is $50,000, and as of Sunday, that goal was about 70 percent met. Donations will be accepted through April 22.

“We wanted to exceed [the goal] because the times are very troubling with food security, and that’s what this is about,” Kitty Dalton, co-coordinator for this year’s walk, said.

After all donations are collected, 75 percent of the funds raised stay with CWS and 25 percent go to the IFC in Orange County.

Dalton appreciates that this event helps to create fellowship with all different kinds of faith communities, and recognizes that this year, in addition to donations, that is extremely important. 

Kathleen Weeks, another member of the St. Thomas More Church, also likes getting to interact with her fellow residents of Orange County at the event.

“Besides the money it raises, it brings that sense of community and awareness,” she said.

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