11th Annual Champlain Islands CROP Hunger Walk

 Sunday September 29, 2024, 1 p.m., CCSH 

This year CIFS has signed up to participate in the walk. Josie Leavitt is leading the team, information as follows

Will you consider joining our team? You'll find a link to join at the bottom of this email!

Click here to join Champlain Islands Food Shelf or enter the URL https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks/team/champlain-islands-food-shelf in your browser's address window.

Learn more about 2024 CROP Hunger Walk at https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks?challenger=josie-leavitt&team=champlain-islands-food-shelf.

Check out my page at https://events.crophungerwalk.org/cropwalks/josie-leavitt.

The goal this year is to raise at least $11,000.    Since 2014, the community has raised more than $70,000.  For each of the past two years, the Crop Walk raised more than $13,000.  Every single dollar is needed.  With increasing local food insecurity and global crises mounting, the needs always outstrip the available resources.

Twenty-five percent of the money raised is returned to the Champlain Islands and shared equally by the Champlain Islands Food Shelf and Food for Thought, which provides food and books to families with school-aged children during the summer and food for many of the same families during school vacations, when school lunches are not available.  Money from the 2022 and 2023 Walks enabled Food For Thought to provide families with food during the Winter break.

Seventy-five percent of the money raised is distributed through Church World Service (CWS).   CWS works alongside partners ranging from small community organizations to the United Nations and USAID.  Sometimes the global response is close to home.  Following the July 2023 floods in Vermont, CWS supplied 216 Cleanup Buckets to communities through the First Congregational Church UCC in Springfield, VT.  The amount our Walk raised in 2022 supported more than half the cost.

The walk is approximately 1.5 miles long, round trip.  Guy Maguire of the South Hero Land Trust will be our guest as we tour the Community Garden and Food Forest at Folsom School and the forest restoration work along the South Hero Recreation trail nearby, local examples of long-term work that CROP Walks support globally to provide sustainable food for local communities. Following the tours, we will return to CCSH for gathering and refreshments.  

Why do we walk?  We walk because others worldwide must walk daily for their food, water, and many other basic needs.  We walk to raise awareness about the needs of our neighbors, who sometimes are us.  We walk to celebrate together, a culmination of our fundraising.

The Champlain Islands Food Shelf needs your help. 

We have seen a 40% increase in the number of people using the food shelf since last year. Food prices are sky high for everyone, including the food shelf. 

Your donation can help ensure our shelves stay stocked with healthy, nutritious food for anyone in Grand Isle County who is facing hunger. 

Mary, a regular user of the food shelf says, “My family eats healthy because of this food shelf. It means the world to me.” 

Every week, new families visit the Food Shelf. Help us feed everyone who comes to us. Imagine knowing the only way to feed your children would be if you skipped dinner? This is a reality for many Vermonters facing hunger. The Food Shelf feeds families. We also feed your neighbors and your co-workers.

Elaine, another weekly client said, “I’m treated like a person, not a problem when I come here.”

Help us continue our mission to feed people with dignity with a generous donation. 

Checks, debit/credit cards and/or paypal accepted.

Please Help your Grand Isle County Neighbors in Need 

In 2022, the CIFS served an average of 102 Households/Month

In 2023, the CIFS served an average of 145 Households/Month

This is an increase in over 40%

We need your help in stocking our shelves with

much needed Non-Perishable items such as:

 Hearty Soups, Canned Stews, Chili, & Tuna

 Low Sugar Cereals

 Peanut Butter & Jelly

  Mayo, Ketchup, & Mustard

  Cake & Cookie Mixes

 Personal Items - Toothpaste & Toothbrushes, Soap, TP, & Dish Soap

Donations are accepted on Tuesdays from 9.30 to 11.30 am

Wednesdays from 2 to 5.30 pm

St. Joseph's Church 

185 US Route 2, Grand Isle, VT 05458

The Champlain Islands Food Shelf was established in 2002 

for ALL Grand Isle County, Vermont residents to alleviate food insecurity.