MIDDLEBURY — More than 200 area residents laced up their sneakers and filled up sponsor sheets for what was a record-setting Addison County Crop Hunger Walk on Oct. 2, an event that raised $24,705 for programs to feed the hungry.
The 34th annual Crop Hunger Walk was organized by Addison County clergy and culminated in a 2.2-mile jaunt through Middlebury on what was a fairly chilly, rainy day.
The Crop Hunger Walk is a program aimed at addressing local and international hunger and poverty. It is sponsored and supported by local congregations, businesses and individuals in partnership with Church World Service.
More than 2,000 participating communities in the United States raise approximately $4 million annually through this endeavor. Money raised goes toward agricultural development, water systems and technical assistance to address chronic food shortages in developing nations. Also, victims of disaster and war receive emergency feeding and medical programs also receive help through the funds raised.
Twenty-five percent of the money generated through the Addison County Crop Hunger Walk will stay in the county to be distributed to local food shelves and hunger fighting programs, noted Beth Stamway, member of the local Crop Hunger Walk planning committee. Local agencies in line to receive proceeds from the walk this year include the Vergennes Community Food Shelf, Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects, the Have-a-Heart Food Shelf in Bristol, the Middlebury Area Summer Lunch and Recreation Program, the Middlebury Community Suppers, the John Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, and Addison Community Action-Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.
Last year’s Addison County Crop Hunger Walk yielded $23,090.
The previous record for funds raised was in 2007, with $23,795.
Other members of the planning committee included Amy Emerson, Molly Reed, Laurie Jordan, Mary Ann Castimore and Becky Stratton; and co-chairs of the event were Patty Hallam and Ellen McKay,
Stamway expressed special thanks to the event’s generous food donors, which included Middlebury Bagel and Deli and Green Peppers Restaurant. Door prize donors included the Vermont Book Shop, American Flatbread, 51 Main at the Bridge, Otter Creek Yoga and The Inn on the Green.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].