Keeka and Micah with Mt. Moosilauke in the distance. Photo by Anna Poole
By Emma Castleberry
In 2021, Micah and Keeka Grant-Tomlinson established the Hiking for Hunger (H4H) project. The pair hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, harnessing all 2,190 miles as a fundraising campaign for MANNA Foodbank. The Grant-Tomlinsons more than tripled their fundraising goal, raising almost $32,000 for people facing food insecurity in WNC. “Our dedicated friends and family from other parts of the country, and even folks we met while on the trail who felt inspired by our passion for this cause, donated to MANNA and shared with their communities what we were doing,” says Keeka. This year, the Grant-Tomlinsons are reviving H4H—this time while they hike the Pacific Crest Trail.
Micah and Keeka in Baxter State Park, Maine. Photo by Chris Darby
In honor of MANNA’s 40th birthday this year, H4H has a fundraising goal of $40,000, which will help provide as many as 160,000 meals for those experiencing food insecurity. The H4H campaign comes at a significant time for the food bank, which is serving the highest ongoing need in its history. “The MANNA community is moving 40,000 meals-worth of food every single day through a mostly volunteer-run network of human service organizations,” says Kara Irani, director of marketing and communications. “Costs of living in WNC are far higher than state averages, food prices have gone up and other expenses are growing faster than a family’s income. It’s a socioeconomic perfect storm that continues to force people to make impossible choices about whether to eat or pay rent, seek healthcare or get groceries, put fuel in the tank to get to work or eat dinner.” Further complicating the food bank’s work are national food chain supply issues, the end of pandemic funding support and food supplies from federal and state governments, and inflation.
The Grant-Tomlinsons will kick off the 2,650-mile trail on Wednesday, April 12, starting from its southern terminus near Campo, CA. “Getting our timing right on the PCT is going to be more critical than it was on the AT,” says Keeka. “There’s a short window of time to make it through the Sierras safely in between the heavy spring snowfall and when it starts up again late summer or early fall.” Despite the fact that the PCT is 450 miles longer, the pair plan to finish their hike in roughly the same time as they completed the AT—about 5 months.
“The most important thing about this campaign,” says Irani, “is the community-building example it sets, and the ripple effect that can have by inspiring people to take their own action towards a more food-secure WNC. Whether you’re thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, walking Beaver Lake on Sunday afternoons or making a donation to support those individuals’ efforts, you become part of something bigger than yourself that is making a difference for people—often a life-saving one.”
Learn more and donate at HikingforHunger.org and MANNAFoodBank.org.
