MA Organization Aims To Help End Hunger With Interfaith Walk

WESTWOOD, MA — September is National Hunger Awareness month and a local organization is bringing people of different faiths together, virtually, in a walk to fight hunger in Massachusetts.

Project Bread's 11th annual Interfaith Mini Walk for Hunger will run from Sept. 13th through Oct. 22. This is the first year that the 40-day fundraising event will be virtual. The Walk for Hunger event was scheduled for May 3 on Boston Common but it was canceled due to the coronavirus.

In this year's virtual version, teams from various Christian, Jewish and Muslim houses of worship will participate. The teams are from Westwood, Dedham, Sharon, Norwood, Walpole and Dover.

The fundraising goal is $2,000,000 and the organization has already raised $1,132,771.12 so far. This year's fundraiser is focused on supporting Project Bread's rapid response to the hunger crisis being caused by COVID-19.

"Project Bread has seen a significant increase in a need for our programs, including a fourfold increase in call volume to Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline. Because of generous support from our donors, including the participants in the Interfaith Mini Walk, Project Bread has been able to expand its capacity to respond to this hunger crisis," said Erin McAleer, Project Bread President.

During the pandemic, Project Bread collaborated with the Department of Education to get 1,600 meal sites running when schools closed in March. The meal sites fed 260,000 kids daily across the state and more than 900 sites have continued to operate through summer thanks to the Summer Eats program Project Bread supports.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.