Monroe CROP Hunger Walk to take place Oct. 22
Monroe. This cause works to raise funds and awareness of hunger issues locally and globally.
Monroe /
| 25 Sep 2023 | 11:04
Last year’s CROP walk.
Orfelina Portillo with a family involved in her hunger project.
Orfelina Portillo carries harvested produce.
Orfelina Portillo casts a fishing net.
The 27th consecutive Monroe CROP Hunger Walk, a benefit event to raise funds to fight hunger and deal with disasters worldwide and in the U.S., will be held on Sunday, October 22.
“By joining together in common cause, people throughout southern Orange County provide a unified response to fighting hunger so that kids can learn in school and adults can work and care for their families and themselves,” Monroe CROP said in an announcement.
The organization has partners around the world to help in its mission. Recently, Monroe CROP shared the story of one such partner in Honduras named Orfelina Portillo: “Before the sun has finished rising, Orfelina, who lives in rural Honduras, is up and ready to start her day. She starts with those she loves the most by sharing breakfast with her daughter and her husband. Next, she prepares lunch and heads out to her favorite part of the day: visiting the fields where she delights in working with families and teaching them modern methods to care for the land they harvest.”
Portillo is an agricultural technician at the Mennonite Social Action Commission, the partner in Honduras. She has worked with communities in the Santa Bárbara region for 16 years and states that her work is one of the best things that has happened to her in her life. “I am already part of the inventory,” she joked, adding, “I am very happy here.”
Portillo leads many activities in the program to teach community members the best farming methods. The topics she teaches range from basic sanitation to vermiculture (the controlled growing of worms).
“This is what I am passionate about: teaching,” explained Portillo. “My profession is a very important part of my everyday life. My work is my joy and I take care of it as if it were a baby. I am part of the strong hand that feeds the world.”
Anyone interested in helping Portillo can join the Monroe CROP Hunger Walk, which starts at Monroe Methodist Church on 47 Maple Avenue at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 22, or donate; 25% of donations go to local Orange County food pantries. To register, form a team, or donate online, visit events.crophungerwalk.org/2023/event/monroeny, or call Fred Schuepfer at 845-782-8386.