Registered and Raring to go:

Cheers icon passed in first mile:

Mile 1 – This was the last correct mile marker:

Citgo icon on the route:

The Walk skirts around Fenway:

Coolidge Corner Style 1:

Coolidge Corner Style 2:

These signs were everywhere all weekend due to the water emergency:

Mile 5 – Someone actually edited this sign:

Chestnut Hill Reservoir:

Mile 9:

Mile 10 – halfway point!!! This was sooo weird.  First time in 7 years we saw the markers screwed up:

Party House right before Lunch Stop where they offered us beer last year! Haha!

Lunch at Daly Field with bands and a short rest:

A fancy new boathouse at Daly Field:

Mile 11 – MORE than 1/2 way there:

Mile 13:

Look at the birdie! He sang too!

Josh in the tunnel:

Mile 14 – walking home along the Charles:

Our little platoon walking along the Muddy:

A Mem Drive icon, in reverse:

Doing the whole walk in full gear!

Citgo sign again, from across the river – we’re almost home!

See that Mile 19 sign?  Across the road?  I think the marker is right – it is not on the walk route though…

The Swan Boats in the Public Garden!

Almost there!

And we made it!!!

We did it!  20 more miles.  And you did it! Together, the Fiala friends & family raised $1300 to fight hunger.  Thank you so much for rallying together with us in our efforts.  And our team raised over $6750!

“The opposite of hungry isn’t full; the opposite of hungry is healthy.”  -Ellen Parker

Because of your kindness we made our goal raising $1000 to fight hunger.

As most of you are aware, fighting the hunger problem in America is an effort we have chosen to support every year and one we believe is an important way we can actively participate in bettering our community.

As the state’s leading antihunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. In addition to organizing the annual Walk for Hunger and supporting emergency food programs statewide, Project Bread also advocates systematic solutions that prevent hunger in children and that provide food to families in everyday settings.

Your donation went a long way!

• $20 provides 40 people at a soup kitchen with a bowl of hot soup and a sandwich.
• $100 provides a week’s supply of groceries for five families.
• $500 allows a community health center to provide immediate food assistance to 25 hungry families. (We each raised $500)
• $1000 permits a food pantry to give a week’s supply of groceries to 50 families in need. (The Fiala total goal)

Project Bread fights hunger and advocates change in the community in which we live. It is an organization we believe in and choose to support year after year. We thank you for your support and solidarity in fighting hunger.

To everyone who supports the fight against hunger,

Thank you,
Jeannette and Josh

Today we walked our 6th Walk for Hunger. This means we have now walked 120 miles raising money to fight hunger and raising awareness for the hunger problem in Massachusetts. Thanks to our family and friends, this year we were able to raise over $1300 and our Baker House team raised over $6500 at last count (the total is still rising). The Baker House team has now raised over $20,000 over the last 5 years.  We had 11 walkers this year. It was a great walk! There are more pictures from the walk after the jump, as well as some hunger facts. But first I want to say a quick thank you to everyone for your support, financial and otherwise. Project Bread fights hunger and advocates change in the community in which Josh and I live. It is an organization that Josh and I believe in and choose to support year after year. We thank you for your support and solidarity in fighting hunger. As the state’s leading antihunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. In addition to organizing the annual Walk for Hunger and supporting emergency food programs statewide, Project Bread also advocates systematic solutions that prevent hunger in children and that provide food to families in everyday settings. Since 1969, Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger has provided critical resources for hungry children and families in Massachusetts.

Today, The Walk for Hunger is the oldest continual pledge walk in the country, and the largest annual one-day fundraiser to alleviate local hunger. It is one of the few walks dedicated to social justice. Money raised through The Walk for Hunger funds more than 400 food pantries, soup kitchens, food banks, and food salvage programs in 128 communities across Massachusetts. The 20-mile Walk route weaves through Boston, Brookline, Newton, and Cambridge.

HUNGER FACTS FROM THE 2008 HUNGER STATUS REPORT
* More than 70 percent of families in low-income neighborhoods report having run out of money to make a meal. Nearly one third of the families say they cut the size of their children’s meals or a child missed a meal because there was not enough money.

* Hunger continues to be prevalent in Massachusetts with 522,000 people struggling to put food on the table. Hunger is primarily found in low-income communities, where the rate is six times higher than the statewide average. Hunger damages everyone it touches; however, certain groups —children, senior adults, and people with chronic illness — are especially vulnerable. For them, even short periods of food insecurity can lead to a health emergency.

* The most recent measurement revealed that 198,380 households or 8.1 percent of all Massachusetts households were food insecure with more than one third of these experiencing hunger. This is an increase from 20012003 when 6.2 percent of Massachusetts households were food insecure and 2.3 percent were found to be food insecure with hunger.

Project Soggy Bread

The Walk was a little big soggy this year! But we had a lot of fun!  The Baker House team raised over $5,000 for the second year in a row and has now raised over $15,000 in 4 years.  YAY!!  For more information see www.projectbread.org, our yearly team page www.projectbread.org/goto/baker and our personal pages www.projectbread.org/goto/jeannette and www.projectbread.org/goto/josh.