CARRBORO - In a pavilion that houses Carrboro's Farmers' Market, Jill and Terry Baker of Carrboro huddled with their dog, Linus, Sunday afternoon before the 25th annual CROP Hunger Walk.

Instead of buying bok choy and organic arugula, the couple and their dog were about to embark on a 4-mile walk through UNC's campus to bring awareness to local and world hunger.

"Poverty is such a sad issue," Jill Baker said. "We are very blessed, and we just want to share what we have and raise awareness of the problem."

Linus' black mustache quivered in the cold. A Havanese, his Cuban roots were not comfortable with 40-degree, rainy weather.

But he was excited to start walking - as were the rest of the 400 participants, who were layered in more UNC sweatshirts, coats and hats than you could shake a stick at. (Luckily, the walk started at 2:30, plenty of time before UNC's tip-off against Kentucky.)

The annual walk raises money for the Church World Service, which supports hunger programs in 80 countries, as well as the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, a Carrboro-based social service organization.

The weather was not ideal for such an event, but those who came out said millions of people around the world suffer far worse things than walking one afternoon in the cold.

"It's a no-brainer to support [efforts against] world hunger," said Mike Galu, who, along with his wife Tish, has walked the past eight years with their church, St. Thomas More. "Those that have, have to give back."

And this community has.

Over the past 25 years, the Chapel Hill/Carrboro CROP Hunger Walk has raised $1.1 million. Last year, 500 walkers raised $50,000, ranking that walk 36th out of 1,600 around the country to raise the most money.

It's hard to believe, but the quaint towns, anchored by UNC and dotted with high-end restaurants and million-dollar homes, has a large poor population.

And it has only worsened over the last few years. More than 3,000 people receive food from the Inter-Faith Council's food pantry, which families can visit once a month to receive a week's worth of food.

As the economy continues to sputter, donations are down, said Kristin Lavergne, the IFC's community service director. The pantry constantly needs rice, spaghetti, soups and vegetables.

Cold reception

And Sunday's January-like weather did not help the fundraiser, either. Organizers had expected 500 to 600 walkers, but 400 showed.

The cold only inspired Thomas Reardon, 16, who walked with several other teens from his church, Church of the Holy Family in Chapel Hill.

Last summer, Reardon volunteered in Haiti.

"It was really eye-opening," he said of the experience. "The level of poverty is extreme, but they could find happiness in the smallest things, and I learned to appreciate that."

So the cold and wet afternoon was not a deterrent for the teens.

"Once a year," Haleigh Collins said, "is not a huge sacrifice."