BETHEL – The Communities Respond to Overcome Poverty (CROP) Walk kick-off will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at West Parish Congregational Church with a potluck supper. Amy Porter, head of the northern division of Church World Service, will highlight the problems of world poverty.

All are invited to bring food to share for the potluck supper and hear more about the walk, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13.

This year the Bethel area and some 2,000 cities and towns nationwide are joining together in interfaith community CROP hunger walks around the theme “We walk because they walk.” Many of the CROP walkers will be wearing “We walk because they walk” T-shirts, proclaiming their solidarity with the millions of neighbors around the world who have to walk to live – as well as with the millions served by local food pantries, food banks and meal sites in the U.S. The local share, 25 percent of the money raised, will go to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Auburn to help feed the hungry in Bethel, Andover and surrounding towns.

For more information about the Bethel Area CROP Hunger Walk, contact co-chairwomen Christine Trefethen at treflist@megalink.net or Jane Chandler at jane.h.chandler@gmail.com.