By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

In 1969, Church World Service founded what the Los Angeles Times called the “granddaddy of all charity walks,” the CROP Hunger Walk. While the event’s acronym has shed its original meaning (“Christian Rural Overseas Program”), the giving spirit of the event remains.

Today, there are 900 CROP Walks in the United States. One of them is the Greater Syracuse CROP Hunger Walk, which takes place Oct. 20 at Onondaga Lake Park.

Pastor Paul Herpich, who retired last year from King of Kings Lutheran Church in Liverpool, is co-chair of the Syracuse walk. Herpich said he has taken part in CROP Walks since his days as a student in Cobleskill during the 1970s. He joined the effort in Syracuse in 1980.

“This is the 50th anniversary for the walk,” Herpich said.

This year, more than a dozen local organizations will benefit from the Greater Syracuse CROP Hunger Walk: In My Father’s Kitchen, Meals on Wheels of Eastern Onondaga County, Baldwinsville Meals on Wheels, North Area Meals on Wheels, the Interreligious Food Consortium, the Samaritan Center, as well as food pantries and dinner programs at Christ the King, UCC Bayberry, St. Joseph the Worker, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Baldwinsville First United Methodist Church, Atonement Lutheran Church and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

Last year, CROP Walks across the nation raised about $8 million. In Syracuse alone, the amount raised was $15,000.

“That’s why I’ve loved this program from the beginning: a quarter of the money stays right here in Onondaga County,” Herpich said.

According to Herpich, 12% of households in the United States face food insecurity.

“I think that’s a pretty important statistic for people to wrestle with,” he said.

Herpich acknowledged that Central New York has plenty of charity walks and runs throughout the summer and fall, and it can be hard to choose which causes to support. Fortunately, donors can participate virtually and give online at crophungerwalk.org/syracuseny.

“There’s a hundred million walks every weekend, so if they can’t walk, they can go online and support us that way,” he said. “That way you can support the walk if the weather’s bad or you can’t walk yourself or you’ve got too much going on.”

Bob Graves has seen the power of CROP Walks from both sides. Not only has he been a participant since the early ‘80s, but he is also president of the North Area Meals on Wheels board of directors, one of the local organizations that benefits from the proceeds. NAMOW’s nearly 300 clients, most of them seniors, consume more than 115,000 meals each year.

For organizations that fight hunger, the CROP Walk is not just about the money, Graves said.

“Part of the purpose is to heighten the awareness that hunger exists,” Graves told Eagle Newspapers last year. “Fundraising goes a long way, but there’s hunger all over the world.”

If you go

What: Greater Syracuse CROP Hunger Walk

When: 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20

Where: Onondaga Lake Park, Liverpool

Info: Visit crophungerwalk.org/syracuseny to join a team or donate. To learn more, contact the Rev. Paul Herpich at [email protected].