CROP Hunger Walk slated for Oct. 21

Hundreds of Greater Springfield residents will take steps to eliminate hunger and poverty locally and globally by participating in the 2007 Greater Springfield CROP Hunger Walk on Oct. 21. The walk will begin and end at Trinity United Methodist Church, 361 Sumner Ave., Springfield.

Walkers are also asked to bring a non-perishable food item (such as peanut butter, tuna fish, soup, pasta or rice) to the walk. These food items will be donated to Open Pantry Community Services, one of the three local beneficiaries of this year's walk. Open Pantry has operated an Emergency Food Pantry (EFP) in downtown Springfield since 1975. Individuals and families can seek groceries from the food pantry on an emergency basis up to five times a year. In 2005, Open Pantry provided enough food to feed more than 25,000 people.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Greater Springfield CROP Hunger Walk, and organizers hope to raise $30,000 for disaster response, anti-hunger, and anti-poverty programs in 80 countries around the world, including the United States. Twenty-five percent of the walk proceeds will be donated locally to Open Pantry Community Services, the Western Massachusetts Food Bank, and the Council of Churches Emergency Fuel Fund.

The theme of CROP Hunger Walks is "We walk because they walk." The message demonstrates the solidarity of walkers with the millions of people around the world who walk for their basic survival, whether that be walking miles in rural Africa to find a source of clean water, or miles down city streets to reach a local soup kitchen or food pantry.

CROP Hunger Walk participants can obtain pledges in person or through online sponsorship. Walkers can "WALK on the Web" by creating a personalized Web page seeking donations, e-mailing requests for sponsorship to friends and family anywhere, and receiving credit card contributions. Step-by-step instructions are provided at www.cropwalk.org.

The Greater Springfield walk will take place rain or shine on Oct. 21. The walk will step off from Trinity United Methodist Church at 1:30 p.m. Registration will begin at 12:30 p.m. For more information or to get involved, call 583-8355 or go online at www.cropwalk.org.