Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Crop Walk Article Final
Crop Walk Article Final
Print: The Greater Indianapolis CROP Hunger Walk will be conducted virtually amid pandemic
Online: The Greater Indianapolis CROP Hunger Walk will be conducted virtually throughout the
month of October
hunger, both locally and globally. The Greater Indianapolis CROP Hunger Walk will be taking
The CROP group located in Indianapolis will be focusing on raising funds and forming
teams online. According to CROP Event Coordinator Rev. Brooks Barrick, those who wish to
participate can sign up to donate or join a group through the CROP website.
While the walk will not be taking place as one organized gathering, many churches in the
area have been hosting their own walks or fundraising virtually in order to contribute, according
to Barrick.
Despite limitations to nonprofits and organized events due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
“As we were having conversations with the nursing students this morning, there are
people unemployed right now because of COVID-19 [and] are not able to contribute like they
did in the past,” Barrick said. “So we don't know what that's going to look like. I was really
surprised with Rosedale Hill United Methodist Church when I went down on Saturday. They had
26 walkers from their church. That's actually the most walkers they've ever had walk the CROP
Enloe, the virtual aspect of this year’s walk has also created challenges with promoting the event.
Enloe and the group of interns from UIndy found different ways to advertise the walk, including
creating posters and Facebook posts that link directly to the CROP website.
“Our group has come up with little different things here and there to help bring awareness
to the walk,” Enloe said. “We've created posters that have QR codes on them and we've been
giving those out to get the word out that the walk is still happening.”
Enloe and the UIndy interns will also be hosting their own CROP walk at UIndy on Oct.
18. The event will give students the opportunity to participate, as well as donate non-perishables.
“That's where we also thought of, it's not super realistic to ask college students to donate
money, but that's where we thought the food drive might come in. So if they come to walk, they
While CROP walks are community events that strive to end hunger locally as well as
globally, community organizers decide where donations will go locally, according to Barrick.
This year, Barrick said, funds from the Greater Indianapolis CROP Hunger Walk will go to
Second Helpings, a food recovery agency that supplies meals to Indianapolis and outlying
counties.
According to Barrick, the CROP Hunger Walks in Indianapolis initially began to combat
hunger in the area that is caused not only by poverty but also by food deserts, urban areas where
there is minimal access to affordable and quality food. The walk is meant to act as a form of
solidarity with those who have to walk long distances for their food.
“ … Even in food deserts in Indianapolis, a lot of people in those food deserts do not
have automobiles, and there are not grocery stores close to them, so then to get to a food pantry,
or to some kind of a shop, they have to walk sometimes a long, really long haul,” Barrick said.
“So our go-to is ‘Let's end hunger, one step at a time, in our own lifetime.’”