CROP Hunger Walk planned Sunday in Youngstown

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

In 2013, the CROP Hunger Walk sponsored by Mahoning Valley Association of Churches broke a record by raising $13,570.

The Rev. Nora Smith, chairwoman, said she hopes the fundraiser planned this weekend follows the same path. She is assistant pastor of Word of Christian Fellowship in Canfield, which is affiliated with Grace Communion International.

The minister said she is expecting about 22 churches in MVAC and ACTION (Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods) with about 300 people participating.

Registration will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1105 Elm St., with the walk starting at 2. Courses have been plotted out for participants; some may choose to walk around nearby Wick Park while others may take a longer route along neighboring streets.

Before the walk, participants may pick up packets at First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave., or First United Methodist Church, 22 N. Market St., Girard.

For information, call 330-788-5914.

The CROP Hunger Walk is a project of Church World Service (www.cwsglobal.org), which was organized by 17 denominations in 1946. The next year, CWS, Lutheran World Relief and National Catholic Welfare Program created a joint community hunger appeal, the Christian Rural Overseas Program — CROP. Though the program has changed, the name remained. In the Mahoning Valley, Mrs Smith said the walk began in the 1980s.

The Rev. Mrs. Smith said CROP also has a link to real crops of food. At one time, 4-H and granges collected “extra” crops such as corn, wheat, rice and beans. CWS shipped the food to help people in need.

“Ending Hunger One Step at a Time” is the theme and goal of the project. The Rev. Dr. Robin Woodberry, executive director of MVAC, takes that to heart. “The obvious goal is to raise money to assist in eliminating hunger in our area,” she said.

She noted that though she has been involved previously in the CROP Walk as a participant, this year she will be “in work mode” to make the event a success.

MVAC’s event will be one of more than 80 walks planned in Ohio and 1,600 walks across the United States. Walkers will give donations they’ve already collected or collect pledge money. Mrs. Smith said 25 percent of the funds collected remain in the Valley and benefit hunger programs operated by Catholic Charities, Fish Samaritan and Protestant Family Service. PFS will provide water for walkers and White House Fruit Farm has donated apples.

The CROP Walk is the oldest hunger-fighting fundraising activity in the United States. CWS reports that hunger is the world’s number one health issue with some 925 million people not having enough to eat.

In the United States, about 15 million children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level — $22,350 for a family of four — which puts them in food-insecure households.