Celebrate Independence Day: Fight Hunger


Angela Rupchock-Schafer | July 6, 2013

My son Gaius has been part of our local CROP Hunger Walk since he was a baby! Here we are last year on Walk day. Photo: Angela Rupchock-Schafer/CWS

My son Gaius has been part of our local CROP Hunger Walk since he was a baby! Here we are last year on Walk day. Photo: Angela Rupchock-Schafer/CWS

Around the United States communities are celebrating the 4th of July this weekend with fireworks, festivals and parades. Families are coming together for Independence Day cookouts. Except not everyone that gathers this holiday will have enough food to put on the (picnic) table.

“In our country, in the richest, most powerful nation in the history of the world, the reality is that 50 million of our fellow Americans struggle with hunger,” said Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) during his fourteenth speech on hunger before the House last week.

The numbers keep on coming. Five million older Americans struggle to put food on the table. More than 16 million children in the United States are part of families that can’t afford the nutritious food children need to grow and thrive. As we celebrate the birthday of our country, we can and MUST do better.

Fourth of July screams community activities, right? Well, now’s the time to organize and start or join your local CROP Hunger Walk. CROP Hunger Walks are all about communities taking action together. And many Walks happen in the fall, so the beginning of summer is the perfect time to start mobilizing. Your regionalCWS office stands ready to help you fire up your friends and family in the fight against hunger.

I’m proud to be part of the planning committee for my local CROP Hunger Walk in Plymouth, Indiana. We are a small, dedicated group who comes together year after year and works to raise money to fight hunger in our little town and around the globe. Take it from me: some of the most amazing people you’ll ever meet are the activists you never knew lived next door.

Sometimes all a Walk needs to flourish is that first spark. Take your cue from all the fireworks blooming in the sky this 4th of July. Be the spark. Start a CROP Hunger Walk.

Angela Rupchock-Schafer, Social Media Manager, CWS