CROP hunger walks begin

Humanitarian agency Church World Service has announced the opening of its 2008-09 CROP Hunger Walk season, during which hunger activists in some 2,000 communities across the nation will begin walking to raise money for the agency's domestic and global anti-hunger programs.

"As the United States and the world come to grips with a food crisis that has seen supplies dwindle and prices skyrocket, more people than ever are finding it difficult to impossible to feed their families, and CROP Hunger Walks are more important than ever," said CWS Executive Director John L. McCullough.

According to U.S. and international reports, more than 862 million people in the world go hungry. In the United States, one in 10 households, including 11.7 million children, sometimes do not have enough food for regular meals, and in developing countries 60 percent of preventable childhood deaths are from hunger and malnutrition.

Many factors contribute to hunger in the United States and around the world, including a global food crisis fueled by rising food prices, lower crop yields as a result of climate change, unemployment and poverty.

CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walks proceeds help to overcome hunger and poverty both domestically and internationally. Internationally, the funds are used to support CWS empowerment programs that bring seeds and tools, wells and water systems, training and micro-enterprise programs to people struggling to feed their families, develop their communities and rise out of poverty.

In the U.S. this year, CROP Hunger Walks will share more than $3.7 million with food banks, pantries and community gardens. This support for local efforts is made possible when CROP Hunger Walks opt to return up to 25 percent of their CROP Walk proceeds to hunger-fighting programs in their own community.

To find a local CROP Hunger Walk, visit www.cropwalk.org or call (888) 297-2767.

This story was provided by Worldwide Faith News.