SWIM Harvest Walk to End Hunger

Southbury/Woodbury Interfaith Ministries to hold Harvest Walk to end Hunger.

The Harvest Walk to End Hunger will be sponsored and 
organized by the newly formed Southbury/Woodbury Interfaith Ministries, founded 
this year by participating faith communities and nonprofit service 
organizations in the two communities to provide a framework for continuing 
discussion and joint action addressing hunger and other issues of social 
justice. Funds raised from the event will benefit the Southbury Food Bank, the 
Community Services Council of Woodbury, and Greater Waterbury Interfaith 
Ministries.

Registration will be held from noon to 1 p.m. outside Mitchell School at 14 School St. in Woodbury. A minimum donation of $10 is suggested for each walker, with children under 5 years of age invited to participate at no cost with an accompanying adult. Walkers under 18 years of age must obtain the signature of a parent or guardian to approve their participation in the event.

Registration forms may be printed and completed in advance 
of the walk by going online to access the SWIM Facebook page at https://facebook.com/SWIMCT.  Forms also will be available from 
participating religious and service organizations in Southbury and Woodbury. 
Advance registrations with donations payable to “MUUS for SWIM” may be mailed 
to: Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society, PO Box 876, Woodbury CT 06798. Inquiries for 
additional information on the walk may be directed to Jayne Baxter Davis at 
(203) 233-7160 or jaynebaxterdavis@hotmail.com.

The 3.4-mile walk will proceed from Mitchell School along Main Street South in Woodbury, reaching as far south as Sherman Hill Road (Connecticut Route 64) and then returning north on Main Street South with an end destination at the original assembly site. Members of the Woodbury Community Emergency Response Team will volunteer to assist Woodbury Police in providing safety arrangements along the walk route.

The event marks the first Harvest Walk to be organized by 
SWIM, which took shape this spring as the product of interfaith “Hunger 
Conversations” sponsored by the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society (MUUS) in Woodbury to focus attention on the problem of food insecurity. Faith communities comprising the charter membership of SWIM include MUUS and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, both of Woodbury; and B’nai Israel, the Jewish Federation, South Britain Congregational Church and St. James Lutheran Church, all of Southbury. The Community Services Council of Woodbury and the Southbury Food Bank, independent nonprofit organizations that provide emergency food assistance programs for residents of their respective towns, also are charter 
members of SWIM.“Although Mattatuck UU Society initially took a leadership role in forming SWIM, MUUS is committed to developing a collaborative leadership structure within SWIM,” remarked the Rev. Jeanne Lloyd, the settled minister of MUUS. “Thus, the Harvest Walk is the result of many dedicated town leaders, religious and secular, who have agreed to champion the event.”

Lloyd observed that her congregation voted unanimously to address the diverse aspects of hunger and food insecurity following an October 2011 workshop on social justice empowerment conducted by the Rev. Art McDonald of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston, Mass. Within its membership, the congregation formed five task forces to address systemic causes of food insecurity: Service, Advocacy, Witness, Education, and Community Organizing. SWIM is an outgrowth of the work of the Community Organizing Task Force.  Lloyd noted the extensive research and action projects undertaken by these task groups raised awareness concerning the inequitable food assistance resources available in different communities in the region, as well as the lack of adequate collaboration in sharing information and taking joint action to address hunger issues.