ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – To help those who worry about food insecurity, the Department of Human Nutrition at Winthrop University will join the Church World Service in sponsoring the York County CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, Nov. 3.
The walk, now in its 46th year, is one of many community-based walks held across the United States by Church World Service. The walk will begin on the Dinkins Hall lawn facing Oakland Avenue on the Winthrop campus.
Hope Lima, associate professor and chair of the Department of Human Nutrition, said that as nutrition professionals, she and her colleagues are trained to support health through food. “However, food insecurity creates a barrier to providing optimal care,” she said. “We can’t begin to address food choice until the person we are working with has access to appropriate food sources and adequate food quantity.”
Another Planning Committee member, Jessica Cauthen, said that CROP Hunger Walkers are encouraged to reach out to friends to sponsor their walk as a way to support neighbors who are struggling to deal with flooding and destruction. While the walks support global and local hunger fighting efforts, a portion of the funds raised this fall will be designated to long-term disaster recovery and to help the Fort Mill Care Center.
“The more we can get the word out, the more we can help support,” Cauthen said. “Along with the monetary donations, community members will assemble hygiene kits and 25 percent will stay with the Fort Mill Care Center while the remainder will support other areas.
The Fort Mill Care Center was established in 1987 by the Fort Mill Ministerial Association and is run by a team of unpaid volunteers. The center will receive canned donations from local grocery stores along with 100 percent of the cans collected during the Nov. 3 walk.
The Nov. 3 walk will originate at Winthrop’s Dinkins Hall with check-in/registration opening at 2 p.m. and the walk beginning at 3 p.m. The walk’s route is approximately three miles.
Before the walk starts, participants can go inside Dinkins to vote on the Canstruction food sculpture displays.
Those who want to register to walk and/or donate can do so at York County CROP Hunger Walk.
For more information or questions, contact the planning committee at yorkcounty.sc.cropwalk@gmail.com.
