Last Sunday was a wonderful day for the organizers of the St. Vincent de Paul walk teams at the Foodshare Walk Against Hunger in Hartford. Everyone was thrilled to see the sea of walkers in bright orange T-shirts with St. Vincent de Paul’s logo “Meeting Needs and Offering Hope” gathering in Hartbeat Park. The group was comprised of 40 different teams from Middletown, Durham and Middlefield. The teams represented faith based organizations, businesses, civic organizations, schools and families for a total of approximately 250 walkers. The local team results exceeded expectations. The total amount raised is estimated to be in excess of $30,000. As one of the organizers said, “St. Vincent de Paul does so much for the greater Middletown area it is easy to ask friends and family for support.” The money raised will help St. Vincent de Paul keep pace with the ever increasing demand for nutritious food at the Soup Kitchen and the Amazing Grace Food Pantry. Amazing Grace Food Pantry is one of the programs of St. Vincent de Paul, Middletown. Local families In need can shop once a month and receive approximately three days’ worth of groceries free of charge. The amount families receive equals $75-$100 worth of groceries. Currently Amazing Grace serves almost 1,000 individuals and families each month. The Soup Kitchen is serving approximately 1,500 meals per week. The St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen and Amazing Grace Food Pantry together provided more and 350,000 meals in 2012, a 13% increase from the prior year. The organizers of St. Vincent de Paul Middletown’s walk teams express their heartfelt appreciation to all those people who worked so diligently to make the walk a huge success. It was the first time St. Vincent de Paul participated in the walk in over 15 years. The Foodshare Walk Against Hunger is the largest walk in the state to fight hunger. An estimated 5,000 walkers participated in the walk on Sunday May 5. Foodshare’s overall goal was to raise $625,000 to help alleviate hunger and food insecurity in Connecticut. Through Foodshare’s management, local community partners like St. Vincent de Paul Middletown can participate in the walk and raise funds for their programs.
