Braintree resident Walks for Hunger

photo courtesy of Project Bread

Braintree resident Grace Chiaramida waves as she completes her 21st Walk for Hunger. She walked with others from Interfaith Social Services, one of more than 450 food programs that is funded by Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

More than 41,000 walkers and 2,000 volunteers walked in Boston earlier this month at Project Bread’s 44th annual Walk for Hunger to raise money to feed hungry families.

The 20-mile walk raised an estimated $3.6 million, and all funds will be donated to 450 community programs across the commonwealth, including emergency food providers, schools, summer food programs, community health centers, farmers’ markets, community suppers, and home care organizations.

“We’re all heartened that our economy is showing signs of recovery,” said Ellen Parker, executive director of Project Bread, “but we know that over 700,000 people in Massachusetts struggle to put food on the table. For families, it’s particularly difficult. That’s why we’re providing as much support as possible to community organizations that provide food for children – for example, we’re supporting preschools, schools, afterschool programs, as well as summer food programs."

Locals from the South Shore joined in on the effort, which claims to be the oldest one-day walk-a-thon for hunger in the country.

Since it was established in 1969, the event has gone from 2,000 walkers raising $26,000 to more than a million participants to raising $85 million.