CROP Walk

Today was the annual CROP walk in our community. CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) organizes walks and encourages participants to ask other people to sponsor them for the walk. The money collected is donated to food banks, food pantries, and other places that provide meals for people who would otherwise go hungry. The walkers in the picture are on the last leg of their walk through our downtown, carrying signs and balloons to draw attention to the problem of hunger. Even in our fairly prosperous community there are people in need. Over 200 people came to the food distribution at the McKinley Outreach Center last month, and our church serves, without charge, over 100 meals every Wednesday evening throughout the year. The hungry are in every community, even when they are not particularly visible.

If you want a smile, look at the two little girls bringing up the rear. They have found a way to have fun with the signs they are "carrying." Kids are creative, aren't they?