ADDISON COUNTY — Since 1977 participants in Addison County’s CROP Hunger Walk have raised awareness and money to relieve the food insecurity many in our community and around the world experience. The need grows ever greater as the coronavirus pandemic puts increasing financial pressure on families. 
Despite COVID-19, organizers are more determined than ever to ramp up efforts in Addison County to provide nutritional resources for food shelves and programs. 
While the pandemic prohibits the usual format of a large community walk on a single day, this year’s CROP Hunger Walk has been reimagined to maximize efforts to raise money to end hunger while also assuring the safety and wellbeing of walkers. 
During the month of September, through Oct. 4, individual walkers and family pods are creating their own walks of any length, a few blocks around town, walks on the TAM (Trail Around Middlebury), in the mountains, and elsewhere. Walkers might imagine they’re walking in an exotic location, such as the streets of Paris or along a beach in Bali. 
Walkers are encouraged to take selfie photos as they walk, and to add a caption about why the CROP Hunger Walk is meaningful to them. These should be sent to the Addison Independent by Monday, Oct. 5. The Independent will then publish photos and captions of this year’s re-imagined CROP Hunger Walk. Send pictures and captions to: [email protected] 
CROP Hunger Walk is a program of Church World Services and Addison County CROP Hunger Walk, with the generous support of Middlebury College’s Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life and the enthusiasm of our local congregations. Walkers and supporters will be raising money for local food shelves as well as world-wide distribution sites. 
In 2019, Addison County raised $21,444. Hopes are high to raise even more this year. Twenty-five percent of money raised in Addison County is donated to local organizations providing nutritional support: The John Graham Shelter in Vergennes, H.O.P.E. (Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects), Middlebury Summer Lunch Program, Have-A-Heart Food Shelf in Bristol, Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Vergennes Community Food Shelf, and Middlebury Community Suppers.
The pandemic has greatly exacerbated the ability for many to sustain adequate food resources for themselves and their families. The need to support our neighbors, near and far, is greater now than ever. 
Visit the Middlebury page for CROP Hunger Walk, crophungerwalk.org/middleburyvt, to learn more about CROP Hunger Walk, register to start raising money either individually or as a team, and make an online donation. For answers to your questions contact Ellen McKay at [email protected].