A man, his dog and their journey to end hunger

Oct. 5, 2021 | Danielle Eaton
deaton@thereminder.com

Mark Roberts and his labradoodle, Mocha, set out on a seven-week walk to end hunger in September.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

WESTERN MASS. – Mark Roberts and his almost 7-year-old labradoodle, Mocha, are on a mission to get people talking about and thinking of ways to help those who may be struggling with food insecurity.

Roberts, who resides in Stow and uses a wheelchair due to a rare neurological disorder called Rhombo Myleoneuropathy, said it was on their usual walk in February that he thought of the idea for a seven-week walk across the state, starting just outside of Massachusetts in Cannan, NY. He recalled how nice people were during their walk and his thoughts after reading the newspaper that day. He said while there was a large article talking about the economy, he also noticed a “little article” referencing how 15 million people had lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I thought, how are these people going to feed themselves?” he said, stating that the article reported, “100 million people around the world are going to slip into severe poverty.” Roberts said the pandemic was “taking back anti-poverty measures by 10 years,” but knew the cause was bigger than just Massachusetts.

“Hunger isn’t just in Massachusetts, it’s around the world. It’s too big of a story. I thought maybe a crazy, old guy in a wheelchair with a super cute dog can generate the same compassion people show me and create a space to talk about how hunger is here,” he said. “We’re the second richest state, but we have all these people that don’t have enough to eat. We need to address the increase in hunger because of the pandemic, we need to look at how in our society women and children don’t have enough to eat. Food should be a fundamental right for children, actually for everyone.”

Roberts said he talked to Mocha for several days before finalizing his decision to complete a seven-week walk to raise money for food banks in Massachusetts. “I do talk to my dog, we talked about it for three days before talking to my wife. And here I am, we’re going, raising money. People are talking about hunger,” he said.

The organizations benefitting from the walk, Roberts explained, are “the four major Massachusetts food banks that supply food to over 1,000 agencies” across the state. Such food banks include the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Merrimack Valley Food Bank and the Worcester County Food Bank.

Also benefitting from the walk, he said, was the organization Save the Children, who Roberts said is “doing incredible things in the U.S., not so much in Massachusetts, but in the South, in Appalachia and the West.” He added Save the Children not only works to fight hunger in the United States but “are around the world,” supporting the cause in many countries as well.

Prior to kicking off their statewide stroll, Roberts said he and Mocha walked daily, but he consulted with Mocha’s vet for the best course of training. “I upped his training in consultation with his vet, we trained the same way someone would train for a marathon,” he said. Roberts said they “upped his daily walk,” but also incorporated longer walks during the week that at one point included a 10-mile walk and several six to eight-mile walks.

“He was a little pooped at the end of the week but loved it, the new smells, the new places. He’s going to turn seven just about when we land in Provincetown. He’s a mid-age, fully fit pup,” he said. “The vet said ‘I’ve never actually trained a dog for something like this, but following human marathon training seems to make sense.”

Roberts went on to say the vet recommended making sure Mocha was “walking on asphalt so his pads got thick.” Since starting their walk to end hunger on Sept. 18, Roberts said Mocha is “doing great,” but he is careful not to let him walk the entire length each day. “He goes five to six miles a day, then we throw him in the car so he doesn’t get too exhausted. He doesn’t like that part, but he doesn’t have to go the whole way. I think by week seven he’ll be doing a great job,” he said.

Roberts said he’s made his way across Western Massachusetts through communities such as West Stockbridge, Becket, Huntington, Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield and Wilbraham with stops at the Springfield Museums and St. John’s Friend’s Place on Sept. 26 and 27. Roberts said they were “trying to visit pantries and kitchens and shelters,” along their route.

He recalled his visit to Huntington, stating,“A few days ago we were in Huntington, there’s a wonderful food pantry there. It’s the biggest food pantry in 15 towns, people drive an hour to be there,” he said. “It’s just amazing how many volunteers and how many people are dedicating their lives to making sure they can eat.”

Roberts also reflected on his visits to local organizations in Springfield. “Yesterday we were at the St. John Friend’s Place, which is a beautiful facility that services a really needy community and does a fabulous job,” he said. Roberts elaborated further on his time in Springfield and said he’d had the opportunity to interact with residents, which he said had been pleasant and rewarding.

“It’s amazing being on the road and seeing different communities. We were going through Springfield yesterday and in a neighborhood that was very clearly economically disadvantaged. I kept meeting people, and I always talk to everyone. Person after person, five different people said ‘Wow that’s great and gave us $1, or $5. One person gave us $20,” he said. Roberts added that there was an older gentleman who said he had “extra food stamps and he asked how he could give food stamps to someone who needed them.”    

“That’s the kind of compassion I’ve seen and that’s amazing,” he said.

After his journey through Western Massachusetts, he said he would be traveling through Worcester and onto several communities in the eastern part of the state.

He said while some days are a struggle for him, the walk, which is scheduled to end in Provincetown on Nov. 7, has been a rewarding experience thus far, despite some rainy days. “Friends are joining us walking along the way, we always have people volunteer to drive our support car. We hit a torrential downpour at one point … but it’s been great, we mostly have had good weather,” he said. “Because of my neuropathy it’s been a struggle to go as far as we have, but it’s been worth it having the beeps and the cheers, people running by and the encouragement.”

Roberts said the walk had also given him a new perspective on Massachusetts communities. “People don’t understand the tapestry of the communities that make up Massachusetts, I certainly didn’t,” he said.

Those wishing to learn more, to donate or simply follow Robert and Mocha’s journey are encouraged to visit https://4hunger.org/save-the-children/ or the 4Paws4Wheels4Hunger Facebook page.

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