A Mile for Our Neighbors: Fourth Form Gives Back at Annual Retreat

According to data from the hunger-relief and food rescue organization Feeding America, 1 in 7 people in Connecticut—including 1 in 5 children—face hunger. At their annual retreat on Sunday, September 20, Fourth Form students joined the local community at “Walk A Mile for a Meal” to help eliminate hunger in our community.

Sponsored by New Milford Social Services and grocery store Big Y, Walk A Mile is an annual “food-raiser” to benefit the New Milford Food Bank. Our Saints joined area schools, religious and charitable organizations, and community members to purchase essential items. Prior to the event, Fourth Form theology teacher Tracy Garcia-LaVigne P ’14, ’16, ’17, ’20, ’23 instructed students to make the most of this opportunity by checking circulars for sales and coupons and preparing well-rounded grocery lists. 

Ten groups of seven students each filled a cart with pantry staples and hygiene products. Traditionally, after check-out, participants walk from Big Y to the Congregational Church on the town green to drop off their groceries. Unfortunately, due to rainy weather, organizers asked them to drive instead.

All told, students contributed $770 worth of goods to the food pantry. Feeding America estimates that the average meal costs approximately $4, which means Canterbury helped to provide nearly 200 meals for their neighbors.

From the church, students headed to the Chapel of Our Lady to reflect on the day’s events. Why are we called to help those in our local community who are hungry and needy? Did the retreat make us more aware that even places like New Milford might have folks who struggle? And what can we do at Canterbury to continue to help?

“Throughout the retreat, I kept thinking to myself how privileged we are as a community at Canterbury,” Alyssa Cole ’29 reflects. “We always know where our next meal is coming from, where we are going to sleep, and where our clothes come from. Others in the town of New Milford do not have those same luxuries. I now feel more grateful for the countless opportunities I have been given, and I have learned not to take them for granted.”

"I am really proud of our Fourth Form students,” says Josh Leeuw, Director of the D’Amour Center for Faith, Service & Justice. “Despite the rain, today I feel the students really showed that Saints show up for others.”

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