More than 250 participants filed out of the First Congregational Church of Evanston on Sunday for a mile-long walk to fight hunger.

The CROP Hunger Walk — an annual event sponsored by faith-based organization Church World Service — has attracted people across the North Shore for the past 25 years to combat local and global food insecurity, said Jon Skogen, Church World Service liaison to the North Shore.

Skogen said Church World Service makes an effort to supply people with more than just food — it also works to install a sustainable lifestyle.

“Instead of just giving a community food, we would provide a family with chickens,” he said. “They of course would turn into a flock of chickens. So, they could eat the chickens and also they’re able to share or sell those in their community.”

CROP Hunger Walks take place in more than 1,000 locations across the nation, raising over $10 million each year, Skogen said. This year, the walk raised more than $10,000 via online donations and $4,000 through cash and checks.

Seventy-five percent of total funds go to Church World Service’s global mission while the rest helps local beneficiaries, according to the walk’s website. This year, Interfaith Action of Evanston, Soup at Six, Family Promise, St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen and Second Baptist Soup Kitchen will each receive 5 percent of the funds.

These local organizations serve food to as many as 110 hungry or homeless individuals on any given day throughout the community, said Rev. Ann Rosewall of the First Congregational Church of Evanston, the host church of this year’s walk.

“(The walk is) an anchor for us,” Rosewall said. “It is a reminder that it’s not just the work that we’re doing locally, but because CROP is connected to Church World Service, our efforts are also making an impact around the world.”

Jarrod Gaither, chair of the walk’s planning committee, selected the beneficiaries for the event. He said the money the walk raises does “a lot of good work” for the selected agencies, even though each one only receives 5 percent of the funds.

Gaither, who has been on the planning committee since 2013, said he has participated in the North Shore CROP Hunger Walk for the past seven years.

Alex DeMarco, director of youth ministry for Northminster Presbyterian Church, said he led a group of nine confirmation candidates in eighth and ninth grade.

“People here have connections of all kinds,” said DeMarco, who participated in the walk for the first time this year. “Just to see the coming together of people from different Evanston circles to tackle one issue, that’s … what I find so neat about it.”

DeMarco said his students learned how to connect with their community and make a connection between “faith and service” through the walk.

Skogen said he organizes events like Sunday’s walk to both help people who face hunger insecurity and bring attention to the issue.

“(We need) just a continued awareness that it is everywhere,” Skogen said. “It doesn’t matter if your community is ‘wealthy’ or not. There is need everywhere. Whether it’s here or other parts of the world, (we should) keep our eyes open for that.”

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