On Sunday, September 22, St. Luke’s Society will host Farm to Feast, formerly the CROP Walk, to spread awareness about local food insecurity and raise money for the Corner Food Pantry.
Initiated in 1947 by Church World Service, the CROP Walk was organized by local farmers to battle hunger in the postwar world. Since then, the Walk has spread to large and small communities around the country.
Ms. Caroline Kenny-Burchfield ’77, director of community partnerships, introduced the project to the school community nearly 25 years ago. Reflecting on its evolution, she said, “After the pandemic, St. Luke’s believed the event needed a revamp. Previous CROP Walks have raised donations for a global cause; however, we decided that it is increasingly important to focus on our local community and assist regional food pantries. With these changes, we decided on the new name of Farm to Feast.”
Food insecurity is an ongoing issue in the local area. In 2022, almost 20% of the families in Canaan received assistance from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to their newsletter, the Corner Food Pantry saw a 12.5% increase in the total number of families served from 2022 to 2023 and a 50% increase in the cost of food.
The event brings attention to this problem. Ms. Kenny-Burchfield said, “Try volunteering at the Corner Food Pantry. I often have student volunteers come to me after seeing the mile-long line of cars waiting to pick up their food saying how fortunate they are to have easily accessible food in the Dining Hall.”
Students from the Salisbury and Indian Mountain schools will join the walk, which will start on the front steps of Main Building and end at Fairfield Farm. At the farm, participants will be able to enjoy corn on the cob, watermelon, fresh cider, dunking booths, face painting, carnival games, and tie dye shirt-making.
Lily Siris ’26, board member of St. Luke’s Society, said, “We’ve tried to showcase the heart of the Corner Food Pantry in the promotion of this event. We filmed a video there and interviewed frequent customers to capture the importance of the organization.”
