Moorestown CROP Walk Set For May 7

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A 43-year Moorestown tradition continues on May 7. That’s when the 2017 edition of the Moorestown CROP Walk is scheduled to take place. The walk solicits donations to fight hunger both globally and locally.

Money raised by participants supports programs of Church World Service, a joint Christian ministry organization of 37 different denominations, as well as the work of three local church-based food pantries.

The pantries are based in Moorestown, and combat hunger in the community. Funds are raised through per-mile pledges and contributions from the public.

The walk begins at Saint Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 318 Chester Avenue in Moorestown, promptly at 1:30 p.m. Participants should register and sign-in beginning at 1 p.m. Water and bathroom facilities will be available at checkpoints along the walk, and there will be refreshments for the walkers when they return to St. Matthew’s Church.

There are 5-mile, 3-mile and 1-mile courses available. The courses go through Moorestown, and are meant to symbolize the reality faced by so many people in the world who must walk many miles each day to obtain food and drinking water.

There are more than 1,600 CROP Hunger Walks throughout the country each year, with over 2,000 communities participating. More than 5 million CROP Hunger Walkers have participated in more than 36,000 CROP Hunger Walks over the last 20 years. Since 1974, the Moorestown event has raised almost $600,000.

In addition to providing emergency food supplies and hunger relief, CROP Walk funds also pay for resources that help enable people to meet their own needs. This includes things like seeds, agricultural tools, wells and water systems, technical training, and micro-enterprise loans.

• Trinity Episcopal;
• First United Methodist;
• First Baptist;
• First Presbyterian;
• St. Matthew’s Lutheran;
• Bethel A.M.E;
• Friends Meeting; and
• Moorestown Jewish Association.

Anyone who cannot walk, they can pledge tax-deductible donations to one of the walkers.

Residents can visit the 2017 Moorestown CROP Walk’s website at www.crophungerwalk.org/moorestownnj to register as a walker, make an online donation, or find out about other ways to get involved in supporting the event.

For further information, contact Event Coordinator Mae Trebing from Saint Matthew’s Lutheran Church, at ironhorse2102@gmail.com or 609-239-4942.

Under the theme “Ending Hunger One Step at a Time,” the event supports the Scriptural message, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty…and did not take care of you?” (Matthew 25:44).

Patch file photo