Erin B. Ashwell '02 isn't a member of the cross-country team. Nor does she have the endurance of a marathon runner.

But that didn't stop her from embarking on the 20-mile "Walk for Hunger" yesterday, which featured about 40,000 people and raised almost $3 million for local food kitchens, according to wire reports.

"It was a lot of fun," Ashwell said. "They had live bands scattered along the way...including a gospel group singing in front of the [Weld] boathouse."

The Walk for Hunger is an annual event sponsored by Project Bread, a local organization "dedicated to alleviating, preventing and ending hunger in Massachusetts," according to its Web site.

Potential walkers seek out sponsors, people who agree to contribute a certain amount of money for every mile the walker completes. Project Bread collects the funds, which go to alleviating hunger in the Boston area. The University pledged $10 for each Harvard student who took part.

Members of 15 student groups took part in the walk, said Brian C. O'Meara'01, who heads the Walk for Hunger Committee, a branch of the Catholic Students Association.

"We just tried to catalyze involvement and organize those already involved," O'Meara wrote in an e-mail message. "We also postered periodically and placed walk guides at Lamont."

The Walk for Hunger route begins at Boston Common, then goes through Boston, Brookline, Newton, Watertown and Cambridge before arriving back at the starting point. Sites passed along the way include the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, Boston College and Eliot Church.

"There were people all along the way cheering us on and supporting us," Ashwell said.

The intersection of JFK Street and Memorial Drive is the 15-mile marker, and according to Goodman, many Harvard participants decide to stop there for convenience rather than going the full distance back to Boston Common.

Keith K. Goodman '02 said he participated in the walk because he was curious. "I was told it was a really big event," he said.

But it was no small undertaking to satisfy his interest in the event. Besides walking 15 miles, Goodman said he began his walk at 7 a.m. after waking up at 5:30 a.m.

The Walk for Hunger will help support 350 food kitchens in the area and assist in supplying 23 million meals, according to wire reports.