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2026 CROP Hunger Walk coming up!

Some of the participants of the 2025 Manchester CROP Hunger Walk. Photo courtesy of Lon Nordeen.

by Sara Swanson

An opportunity to help reduce hunger around the world while also supporting those in need right here in our community is coming up on October 4. The CROP Hunger Walk is an opportunity to contribute both by donation and/or by walking 1 to 3 miles around our community.

CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by local congregations and groups to raise funds to reduce hunger around the world and at home. Twenty-five percent of the funds raised by the Manchester CROP WALK this year will be used to support programs run by the Community Resource Center, Manchester Family Services, and the Manchester Senior Citizens Council.

To participate in the walk or to donate, contact Cathy Moore at 734-649-7431 or Marlene Uphaus at 734-341-7170, or online at . Sign-in begins at 1pm on the day of with the walk taking off at 1:30pm. The walk will be starting at the Manchester United Methodist Church, 501 Ann Arbor St. Both one mile– and three mile–routes will be marked. Rocking chairs will be available for anyone who would prefer to “rock their mile.” Pets on leashes are welcome to join the Walk.

A Manchester CROP Walk has been held every year over the past 31 years, and local contributors have raised more than $126,000. Manchester organized its first CROP Walk in 1995 under the leadership of Laura Sutton. That year, 182 walkers participated and raised $9,040.

Organizers state that last year there were 39 walkers here in Manchester, raising $4,581, and that their goal for this year will be to raise over $5,000.

CROP stands for Christian Rural Overseas Program, which was started as an agency for Christian World Services in 1946 to help starving countries in Europe after WWII. The CROP Hunger Walk began in 1969, 55 years ago. Last year, 14,000 participants around the United States raised $3,330,947 million.

2025 Manchester CROP Hunger Walk aid station. Photo courtesy of Lon Nordeen.

The CROP Hunger Walk is a longstanding event in the Manchester community. Photo courtesy of Lon Nordeen.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.