VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The CROP WALK for Hunger event in Valley City is set for Wednesday, May 9. Registration begins at 6:30 pm at Faith Lutheran Church in Valley City and the walk will start at 7 pm.

“Everyone is welcome to walk or donate,” states Sharon Buhr, chair of the event.
Twenty percent of the donations will go to the Barnes County Food Pantry, with the remainder going to places in need in the USA or to developing countries across the world.

The walk is a local ecumenical event, partnering with Church World Service (CROP) to reduce hunger across the world and to provide for safe water and sanitation. “This is an opportunity to fight hunger globally and in our local community,” notes Pastor Jolene Knudson-Hanse of Faith Lutheran.

Safe sanitation, that is to say, building latrines in Vietnam is a focus of Church World Service this year. In the USA we often have more than one toilet in our homes, but in developing countries there are often none…and not even an ‘outhouse’. In Vietnam a quarter of the population has no sanitary system, much less an indoor toilet. That’s 20 million people without even a latrine! That is where Church World Service comes in via donations, for approximately $100, a sturdy latrine (outdoor toilet) can be built, which can increase sanitation and reduce disease in the area.

Church World Service is an ecumenical development and relief organization that works across the world. In 1997 it provided relief services for the people in the Grand Forks area during the flood.

Anyone interested in walking is invited to come to Faith Lutheran Church at 7 pm and walk. Sharon Buhr, walk chair, encourages interested walkers to pick up a pledge/donation sheet ahead of time from area churches or to contact her at 845-5197. All are welcome.