Daniel Stones has participated in Penn Township’s annual fundraiser to fight food insecurity since before he could walk.
The CROP Walk, hosted by First United Church of Christ in Harrison City, used to draw 75 walkers raising money to fight hunger locally and worldwide. Since the pandemic, attendance has dropped to less than a dozen people.
That’s why Stones, a senior at Penn-Trafford High School, is devoting his Eagle Scout project to promoting the Oct. 27 event to community members.
“A big thing I’m doing is building a relationship with the churches so that they’ll continue it in the future,” said Stones, 17, of Penn Township’s Level Green neighborhood. “That’s a huge part of it. Not just ‘Oh, come this year.’ It’s ‘Come next year, the year after,’ which will keep it going for years to come when I’m not in Scouts anymore.”
Stones, who is pursuing his Eagle Scout award after nearly seven years in Boy Scouts, is visiting a new church each Sunday, spreading word of the walk to parishioners. He aims to draw 100 people to the event.
The CROP walk — Christian Rural Overseas Program — was started in 1969 by global nonprofit Christian World Service. Churches across the country register to participate every year. More than 8,500 people and more than 2,000 teams have registered so far.
First United Church of Christ in Harrison City organizes Penn Township’s CROP Walk, said the Rev. John Titus. The event has been around since before Titus came to the church in 2009.
Titus is expecting a larger turnout for the event this year with Stones’ help. With the financial support of other area churches, Titus aims to raise $10,000.
Although 75% of the proceeds will support Christian World Service’s global efforts, 25% will support the Trafford-Level Green Christian Food Bank in Trafford and the St. Barbara Catholic Church Food Bank in Harrison City.
“It just is at the core of my beliefs,” Titus said of the event. “The prophet Micah (says) ‘What does the Lord require of you to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.’
“Neighbors don’t have to be across the street from you, but from around the world.”
About 18 million U.S. households faced food insecurity in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Education. This is about a 1 million household increase from the year prior and the highest rate since 2014.
As a frequent food bank volunteer, Stones has seen these numbers firsthand.
“You can definitely tell there’s a huge need,” he said. “It’s not just once a year — a food collection. It’s year-round. So something like this definitely helps. It helps big time.”