39th Annual Cranford CROP Hunger Walk Aims to Raise $13K

The annual Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty walk, sponsored by Church World Service, will enter its 39th year in Cranford on Oct. 20.

The Interfaith Human Relations Committee of the Cranford Clergy organizes the walk, which is dedicated to ending hunger both at home and aboard. Last year, 120 people participated in the walk, raising $10,277, with $2,870 being allocated towards Cranford.

“This year, the Cranford CROP Hunger Walk hopes to attract 125 walkers and raise $13,000, to be used for self-help initiatives,” the committee said.


On Oct. 20 participatntswill meet at the Cranford Unite Methodist Church at 1:45 p.m. Walkers are encouraged to bring a $5 gift card to a grocery store and a canned food item. Items will be donaed to Cranford Family Care.

Walkers will complete a pre-defined three-mile circuit around the town, past the high school, through downtown and meeting back at the United Methodist Church for activities and refreshments.

 The Cranford Alliance Church, Calvary Lutheran Church of Cranford, the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford, the Cranford United Methodist Church, St. Michael’s Church of Cranford,Temple Beth-El-Mekor Havim of Cranford, the First Baptist Church of Cranford and Osceola Presbyterian Church of Clark are all participating in the walk.

“Currently, well over 2,000 communities across the U.S. join in more than 1.600 CROP Hunger Walks each year,” states the CWS Web site. “More than five million CROP Hunger Walkers have participated in more than 36,000 CROP Hunger Walks in the last two decades alone.”

Of the funds raised, 25 percent will go towards Cranford Family Care, the food pantries of Osceola Presbyterian Church of Clark and the First Congregational Church of Westfield. 

For more information regarding the walk, contact chairperson Robin Marko at 908-789-0379.