Rain and wind fail to deter Salisbury CROP Hunger walkers

SALISBURY — More than 100 people turned out on a blustery, wet afternoon for the CROP Hunger Walk in Salisbury and Lakeville on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Organizer Patricia Palmer said she had been watching the weather forecast and decided Sunday morning to go ahead with the walk.

Participants came from Salisbury and nearby towns, with sizable contingents from Salisbury School, Indian Mountain School and The Hotchkiss School.

The event, now in its 43rd year, supports Church World Service’s international efforts to end hunger and poverty, as well as local food pantries. Individuals and teams register for the walk, and donors sponsor them.

Palmer said she wouldn’t have a final amount raised for a week or so, but added that last year’s walk raised $49,571.

The walk began at the Congregational Church, followed the Rail Trail to Patco in Lakeville, then returned along Main Street to Brook Street, where walkers rejoined the trail and headed back to the church.

Adam Smedberg of Church World Service gave an example of how donations are used.
In a rural part of Cambodia, he said, the rainy and dry seasons each last about six months. Children in one village must cross a river to get to school, which requires a boat during the rainy season.

After a boat capsized and sank one year, villagers were reluctant to send their children to school despite the boat being replaced.

Church World Service provided life jackets and training in how to use and store them so they would last for years.

Smedberg said that gave the villagers the confidence to send their children to school again.

Palmer noted that 25% of the money raised goes to local food banks.

The Rev. Erik Karas of Christ Trinity Church in Sheffield said the CROP Hunger Walk is part of an ongoing effort to end hunger worldwide.

“It’s easy to forget when everybody has enough,” he said. “We’d like it to be one and done and the world is fixed. But it doesn’t work that way.”