It appears Wal-Mart does have a heart, of sorts. Today the world’s third largest corporation announced it would contribute more than $2 billion towards the fight against hunger in America. The donation will come in the form of 1.1 billion pounds of food from Wal-Mart stores, distribution centers and Sam’s Club locations (valued at $1.75 [...]

March 16, 2010 Today, as I watched a screening of Josh Fox’s documentary GasLand, about natural gas extraction by means of a hydraulic drilling process called “fracking,” it struck me just how often we allow short-term greed to stand in the way of what is best for everyone over the long term. Natural gas has [...]

Day 91–Oct. 2 (Hiram, OH – Aurora, OH, 11.1 miles) Poverty. It is a word no one likes to hear. It is not something we want to acknowledge exists in a country as wealthy as the United States. But far too many times when I tell people I’m walking for poverty and homelessness I’m told [...]

Day 87–Sept. 28 (New Castle, PA – Youngstown, OH, 17.3 miles) Absent from many discussions of affordable housing are a few realities. First, much of “affordable” housing is substandard, owned by slum lords who charge too high a rent payment for poor quality housing. Second, many people who can afford rent payments in an affordable [...]

Day 85–Sept. 26 (Beaver Falls, PA-New Castle, PA 18 miles) In the bad times, when we struggle and make our way through hardship or tragedy, we vow we will never forget. But we do forget. When I was first married I can remember struggling to pay the bills and staying up nights wondering how we [...]

Day 83–Sept. 24 (Bellvue, PA-Baden, PA, 14.2 miles) The sidewalks along Route 65 in Emsworth are in such a state of disrepair that in many places grass and weeds have fully reclaimed the concrete. When I was walking, I passed no one. Just a little north lies the town of Sewickley. The sidewalks are pristine. [...]

Day 60–Sept. 1 As if working for minimum wage isn’t bad enough, a new study, Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers, a survey of more than 4,000 low-wage workers, suggests “many employment and labor laws are regularly and systematically violated.” The 2008 survey of 4,387 workers in low-wage industries in the three largest U.S. cities—Chicago, Los Angeles, [...]

Day 64–Sept. 5 Lately I find myself curious as to why so many people just accept their fate as one of the exploited working poor. Why do people not rebel against what will surely be a life of endless struggle? As I’ve been reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickle and Dimed,” I have been struck by the [...]

Day 63–Sept. 4 As it turns out, keeping up with the Joneses may be out of reach for 1 in 4 American families. That is the estimated number of working families who are low income. A report by The Working Poor Families Project, Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short, found that in 13 states 33 [...]

Day 32–August 4, 2009 For two weeks, 98 miles, I walked on an injured ankle. Today, after a visit to an orthopedist, an x-ray, and an MRI, I learned that I have a stress fracture of my left tibia. I have been walking on a broken leg. So, instead of just taking a couple weeks [...]

Day 28–July 31, 2009 Strictly speaking homelessness means not having a home. But there are many ways a person can be homeless; staying with family or friends; living in transitional housing or shelters; or simply getting by on the street, in cars, or in tents. Regardless, homelessness is the result of a breakdown in community. [...]

Day 21–July 24 (rest in Greensburg, PA, 0.0 miles) As of today the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. It is the third and final increase in a phased hike in the minimum wage that began in 2007. Prior to 2007, the minimum wage had not seen an increase since it was set at [...]

Day 18–July 21 (rest in Latrobe, PA, 0.0 miles) For the second day since I injured my ankle I decided it was too painful to walk. Yet, while I have the luxury to stay and rest, many people do not. One woman I met a few days ago told me of her battle with Crohn’s [...]