200 Canterbury Community Members Participate in Annual “Walk a Mile for a Meal” Event

During the week of September 28, close to 200 Canterbury community members took part in the annual “Walk a Mile for a Meal” event to benefit the New Milford Food Bank. Typically, the event is held over the course of one day and Canterbury students fill up shopping carts at Big Y and walk their purchases one mile to the Congregational Church on the Village Green for them to be donated to the Food Bank. 

This year, to maintain safe social distancing and keep gatherings to a minimum, Canterbury students organized smaller groups to participate throughout the week. Sports teams, dorms, classes, and advisory groups got together at staggered times to collect donations and walk a mile—on campus—to show their support for the event. Students raised $750 to benefit the Food Bank in addition to the food collected, which was enough to stuff a Canterbury bus!

Director of the Center for Spirituality, Service & Justice Tracy Garcia-LaVigne helped students organize their groups on campus. “While we missed walking with the New Milford community and seeing our friends from Social Services, we are grateful for the generosity of our students and faculty in supporting our neighbors,” she said. “Seeing our community care for one another on and off the hilltop was a source of hope in these times and affirmation that we are stronger when we are all in this together.”
 
Canterbury has been involved in this community-wide event run by New Milford Social Services for over 25 years. “Walk a Mile for a Meal” takes place each September, which is National Hunger Awareness month. The event is one of many service opportunities benefiting the local  community that Canterbury students participate in annually.
 

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