Area churches walk for hunger

Members of Mt. Caramel Friends Church hold a small version of the annual Walk for Hunger to benefit Yadkin Christian Ministries.

Supporters of Yadkin Christian Ministries had to rethink this year’s Walk for Hunger fundraiser in light of safety precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but nevertheless the event took place. Rather than gathering together at the Yadkinville Town Park for the walk and fellowship, individual churches held smaller versions of the walk to raise funds and awareness for those in need.

Yadkin Christian Ministries provides food for those in need at locations in Yadkinville and East Bend. The organization served a total of 17,000 family members in need last year. The Walk for Hunger is a tradition dating back to at least the 1970s and has been organized since 2011 by Deep Creek Friends Church in memory of Susan Steelman. Steelman was a dedicated volunteer for Yadkin Christian Ministries as well as other church and community organizations.

Churches participating in this year’s revamped version of the Walk for Hunger included Deep Creek Friends, Mt. Carmel Friends, Forbush Friends, Branon Friends and Richmond Hill Baptist churches.

“I appreciate all who participated in the Walk for Hunger and am especially grateful for Deep Creek Friends for sponsoring this event,” said Yadkin Christian Ministries Director Beth Steelman. “We were concerned about how the pandemic would affect the Walk. Area churches stepped up and rallied their congregations to be a part of this community effort to address food insecurity in Yadkin County.”

”YCM is humbled by our caring community and their continued support for this ministry,” Steelman added. “The pandemic has been a challenging time for us with church and individual food donations being reduced, but we are trusting the Lord to continue to supply the need as He always does. I am often asked what food items we need for our pantries. Any non-perishable items are appreciated. We do often have a deficiency of cereal, saltine crackers, sugar, dried pinto beans and canned pinto beans.”

For more information on Yadkin Christian Ministries or to learn more about donating or volunteer, visit www.y-c-m.org or call 336-677-3080.

Kitsey Burns Harrison may be reached at 336-258-4035 or on Twitter and Instagram @RippleReporterK.