Moorestown’s annual CROP Walk will take place on Sunday, May 6.
For more than four decades, Moorestownians have taken a walk. The annual CROP Walk raises money to fight hunger both nationally and internationally through Church World Service. Mae Trebing, Moorestown’s CROP Walk coordinator, said their goal is to encourage the Moorestown community to spend all of April raising money, so when they walk on May 6, they do so having met their goal of $20,000.
CROP hunger walks are community events that raise money through per-mile pledges. Moorestown’s walk leaves from Saint Matthew Lutheran Church and follows a five-mile scenic course through town. The walk symbolizes the miles-long trek people throughout the world walk each day to obtain food and clean drinking water.
“We walk because they walk. They walk to get water, and they walk to get food,” Trebing said. “They walk miles to do this.”
For those who are unable to walk five miles, there are optional three- and one-mile courses, and for those who cannot or chose not to walk, they can pledge donations to the walkers or directly to the Moorestown CROP Walk.
Of the money raised, 25 percent remains in Moorestown. Trebing said this money will be split between the food pantries at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, First Presbyterian Church Moorestown and Bethel A.M.E. Since 1974, the Moorestown community has raised approximately $600,000.
Church World Service does more than just feeding people, according to Trebing. In addition to funding emergency food supplies and hunger relief, it provides developing communities with sustainable resources such as seeds, tools and water systems to continue to fulfill their needs after the organization has left.
Trebing, a member of Saint Matthew Church, said organizing the walk is very much a group effort. Volunteers from eight religious organizations in town lend their support. Along the way, volunteers recruit people to walk or donate.
“We have a goal, and that’s the main thing,” Trebing said. “You set a goal, and you work toward that. They’re enthusiastic, and you just keep trying.”
Throughout April, the goal is to get the word out. Trebing said there are hungry people in communities throughout the world, including Moorestown. She said even if someone pledges to walk a mile, they’re helping to make a difference.
“If there’s hungry people, you want to make sure they get fed,” Trebing said. “Maybe it sounds like a drop in the bucket, but every drop helps to fill the bucket.”
Moorestown’s CROP Walk will take place on Sunday, May 6 beginning at 1 p.m. Walkers can check in at Saint Matthew Church starting at 12:15 p.m. Residents can sign up to walk by contacting a church coordinator from one of the sponsoring Moorestown organizations including Trinity Episcopal, First United Methodist, First Baptist, First Presbyterian, St. Matthew Lutheran, Bethel A.M.E, Friends Meeting and the Moorestown Jewish Association.
To register as a walker, make an online donation or find out more, visit www.crophungerwalk.org/moorestownnj.
