For 43 years, the annual CHOW walk has been the organization’s largest fundraiser.
CHOW partners with nearly 120 different emergency food programs every day to help fight food insecurity in Upstate New York.
“Those are the boots on the ground, and these silent warriors that are fighting the good fight are busy about doing their own thing,” said Les Aylesworth, the director of CHOW. “They don’t ever get a chance to shine a little bit. So, we wanted to allow them to shine, and this is a great way to do it.”
According to the New York State Comptroller, Broome County has the second-highest poverty rate among counties in New York State. Aylesworth says that every dollar counts in the battle against hunger.
“Every dollar allows us to provide five meals,” said Aylesworth. “We have a lot of people who are struggling, so we want to raise awareness about the issue.”
While sponsors help, the walk’s largest part of the funds comes from individual donations.
Aylesworth says that, as the community support has been paramount, he continues to set the fundraising goal higher each year.
“So, we’ve been raising about $20,000. My high goal is $50,000, so we’ll see what happens,” Aylesworth told 12 News.
All the money raised will go to the CHOW warehouse to acquire more food, which is then distributed to those partnering agencies.
Walks like these are a great way to bring the community together around a good cause. Thanks to efforts like this walk, CHOW was able to distribute nearly four million pounds of food in 2024.