St. George Interfaith Council hosting 'CROP Walk' to help southern Utah combat hunger

David DeMille, St. George Spectrum & Daily News
·2 min read
Participants in the annual CROP Hunger Walk wind their way through Bloomington Hills in this Spectrum file photo. The event, hosted by local churches and faith groups, raises awareness about world hunger while also collecting donations for area food drives.
Participants in the annual CROP Hunger Walk wind their way through Bloomington Hills in this Spectrum file photo. The event, hosted by local churches and faith groups, raises awareness about world hunger while also collecting donations for area food drives.

The St. George Interfaith Council is hosting its annual "CROP Walk" on Saturday, inviting the public to come help raise money and awareness to combat hunger.

The event, slated for 10 a.m. on Nov. 12 at Larkspur Park at the corner of Ft. Pierce and Larkspur drives in Bloomington Hills, functions as a major service project for many area churches and provides a chance for members of all faiths to work cooperatively in an effort to provide food to those in need. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.

CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty.

St. George Mayor Michele Randall and Washington City Mayor Kress Staheli are scheduled to lead participants into the six-mile walk, a distance meant to represent the distance walked by people in some food-scarce communities in the world in order to get food, water and work. Not all involved participate in the walk, with many making donations or otherwise trying to help the effort.

The local CROP Walk has raised more than $90,000 to help feed hungry people in St. George and around the world over the past decade, according to a press release advertising the event.

The CROP Walk "shows our community the amazing spirit of cooperation that the various faith groups have developed in Utah's Dixie that transcends our religious differences," said the Rev. Jimi Kestin, whose church Solomon's Porch Foursquare Fellowship uses a portion of the CROP Walk donations to support a food pantry and dinners.

"It highlights the tremendous need in the area of food insecurity, both right here in our community and worldwide," Kestin said.

The event is set to include five refreshment tables along the way sponsored by Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, Solomon’s Porch Foursquare Fellowship, Grace Episcopal Church, Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For more information on the event, contact Tim Martin at 435-862-2902 or prestim@aol.com. To donate, visit crophungerwalk.org/stgeorgeut.

David DeMille writes about southwestern Utah for The Spectrum & Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newsroom based in St. George. Follow him at @SpectrumDeMille or contact him at ddemille@thespectrum.com. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: 'CROP Walk' invites southern Utah to help combat hunger