The First Presbyterian Church in Metuchen played host Sunday to the annual CROP walk ? Community Residents to Overcome Poverty.

The walk is held once a year to raise money and awareness about hunger in New Jersey and around the world. First Presbyterian teamed up with congregants from eight other local churches for the event.

"Most people perceive our community as affluent,? Tom Riveley, a member of First Presbyterian, says. ?But the need is out there - people struggling day-to-day to keep food on the table."

Twenty-five percent of the money raised by the CROP walk will stay in the local community and help about eight families, more than twice the number the church has helped in the past. The rest will go toward Church World Services, an international group that helps fight hunger worldwide.