Volunteers from Manhattan area churches and organizations are working together to to beat hunger by taking two walks and collecting food. On Sunday, Oct. 3, volunteers will turn in the sponsorships they have gathered and walk from Wilson Creek School in the second annual Manhattan CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk. To promote the CROP Walk, some volunteers will also walk in the Saturday, Sept. 4, Fun Day Parade and collect nonperishable foods along the route.
It’s unusual to bring canned and boxed foods to a parade, but the CROP Walk volunteers are hoping people do just that, and deposit foods in the carts the CROP walkers will use in the parade. Foods collected will go directly to the Manhattan Food Pantry, which is in serious need. Shelves are depleted and all nonperishable foods would be useful, from peanut butter to cereal and pasta to vegetables. Paper products, diapers (especially in larger sizes), toilet paper, laundry detergent, soap, and coffee are also needed. Currently there are 60 families registered at the Manhattan Food Pantry, according to pantry volunteer Noreen Bormet.
The CROP Hunger walk on Oct. 3 will step off from Wilson Creek School. Registration is at 1:30 p.m. and the Sanctuary Manhattan Church praise band will entertain before the official step-off at 2:00 p.m. on local trails. There will be a short route of about a mile and a longer route of two miles, so walkers can choose the distance they prefer. Water and snacks will be furnished to the walkers.

Sanctuary Manhattan Church will also be accepting non-perishable food donation drop offs during the church’s 10 a.m. worship service through 2 p.m. when the walk starts. The church will also accept food donations from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Sept. 5, the day after the parade, for the Manhattan Food Pantry’s September distributions to local families.
All churches and organizations are invited to participate in the CROP Walk. Last year, in the first Manhattan CROP Walk, 80 walkers raised nearly $6,000. This year, the goal to secure 100 walkers who together will raise at least $6,500. Twenty-five percent of the money raised goes to the Manhattan Food Pantry, and the rest is used to combat hunger in America and throughout the world. This past year, CROP Walks have funded help for flood victims in Monmouth, tornado victims in Streator and Pontiac, earthquake victims in Haiti, and aided people in many other locations.

For more information, or to volunteer or donate, visit www.cropwalkonline.org/ManhattanIL or call Pastor Carol Currier-Frighetto of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ at 815-478-4900 or Pastor Becky Williams of Manhattan United Methodist Church at 815-478-3285.
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