Walk for hunger on 11/11/11 nets $3,333

Thanks to one local pastor and his congregation, 11/11/11 really was a lucky day for the Freeport Emergency Food Pantry.

On Friday, Pastor Ron Garner of the Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church completed an 111-mile walk from Montauk to Freeport to raise awareness about hunger on Long Island, and his congregation helped him surpass his goal of donating 1,111 food items and $1,111 to the food pantry.

Between Nov. 1 and Nov. 11, the national United Church of Christ ran “Mission: 1,” which tasked each of its congregations to launch its own hunger awareness campaign with the goal of donating 1 million food items to food pantries, raise $111,111 in online donations and sending 11,111 letters to Congress to express concern over the issue.

Garner, 59, who has always loved to walk, took it upon himself to add an extra element to the challenge and planned the five-day, 111-mile walk from the Montauk Lighthouse to the Freeport Food Pantry.

“I had heard at some point the general length of Long Island,” said Garner, who is originally from Indiana. “So I wondered how far it was from the lighthouse to the food pantry. I put it into Google and it was 104 miles. I planned a few extra points along the way to make it 111.”

Garner’s final count -- all given to the Freeport pantry -- was 2,627 food items and $3,333. At Friday’s end, he had raised just more than $3,000 and one congregation member donated the rest to make the number triple his original goal.

He said nationally, the United Church of Christ also exceeded each of its goals.

“Most of the churches involved put everything into the national campaign,” he said. “We wanted to stay local.”

Wally Merna, manager of the Freeport Emergency Food Pantry, said his facility has already received 519 applications for Thanksgiving food baskets and Garner’s donations will go directly to serving the holiday need.

“It’s one of the largest gifts that we’ve gotten,” he said. “The only way we could even come close to something like that is when we actually order food from a wholesaler.”

Merna said the pantry serves about 475 families a month. Last year, it served 5,231 families and the need has been consistently rising. He said Garner’s walk did more than just raise donations, it raised public consciousness throughout the length of Long Island.

“Hunger is not a holiday issue,” he said. “People are hungry 365 days a year and his walk highlighted that because he stopped and talked to people along the way.”

Garner said he walked about 22 miles a day and took a break every five miles. His wife, Maurene O’Hagan, picked him up at the end of each day and dropped him off in the morning.

When he stopped and along his path, Garner would approach people he met to tell them about his mission.

“Of those two things -- the advocacy though public awareness and the actual food and money that were donated -- I couldn’t really tell you which one is more important,” said Merna. “If people really took it to heart, it’s going to continue that gift year round.”

Garner said a group from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Bellmore, which donates fresh vegetables from its garden to the Freeport pantry, met him during the last few miles of his trip and walked with him to the food pantry, where there was a small celebration.

Though this year was successful, Garner said he hopes to do even more in years to come.

“Now that I know that I can do it and that people are interested,” he said. “I will try it again and see if we can do more.”