With over 200 students participating,  St. Luke’s Society’s Crop Walk kicked off community service events for the year on Sunday, October 10. 

The Crop Walk raises funds every year for hunger relief. Proceeds from the Crop Walk go to the Church World Service (CWS), which established the CROP Hunger Walks movement. First established in 1947 as the Crop Project, CROP Hunger Walks began with the goal of donating food and crop seeds to European and Asian countries struggling with food shortages in the post-war era. Eventually, CROP became a nationwide event to end hunger “one step at a time.” At the school, half of the donations raised go towards purchasing food for the local community, while the other half is distributed globally to non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Luke’s collaborated with other regional schools and community organizations to organize the Crop Walk at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. Both this year and last year, however, St. Luke’s ran the event independently. Jason Shan ’23, a head of St. Luke’s, explained, “Because of COVID, the community isn’t able to come together as we have done in normal years. Traditions like walking with other schools and competing for the Golden Sneaker award were not possible, but we will be trying our best to bring them back next year.”

The Crop Walk invited students to take a route to Fairfield Farm and participate in a variety of field activities afterward–including spikeball, badminton, and cornhole. In addition, participants who donated over $15 had the opportunity to tie-dye a t-shirt. Shan said, “Since it is a Hotchkiss tradition, we were so excited to try to replicate the same energy that we see in the Crop Walk every year.” 

For those unable to participate in the walk, St. Luke’s held a donation station in the main hallway so that community members could still contribute to the cause. 

Overall, the school raised over 1700 dollars during the Crop Walk fundraiser. Students saw it as an opportunity to provide aid to those struggling with food insecurity.

Check the weekly email that St. Luke’s Society sends out to students for updates on future community service opportunities.