NORFOLK, Va. — Volunteers across our community are honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by participating in the MLK Day of Service at the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, embodying the spirit of service that Dr. King championed.
At the food bank's warehouse, volunteers are supporting multiple critical programs. They're helping with the backpack program that feeds children during weekends, assisting with produce preparation for mobile food distributions, and sorting and checking food donations and more..
"These are groups that truly want to embody what it means to serve," said Jeremy Rodden, Director of Community Engagement. "They do it throughout the year, but this is just another way they can highlight it specifically for Dr. Martin Luther King's Day."
The overwhelming response demonstrates the community's commitment to service. All volunteer slots for this MLK Day are already filled. However, the food bank emphasizes that the need for volunteers continues year-round.
"It takes a city, I wouldn't even say a village," the representative said. "The amount of work that we have to do and the amount of work that our volunteers help us with. We couldn't do half of what we do here if we didn't have that number of volunteers."
The food bank is also preparing for potential future challenges. Even though the recent government shutdown has ended, its effects continue to impact families in the community.
"We know that the effects of the government shutdown didn't just end when the shutdown ended," said Rodden. "There are people fighting their way back from that so with the support of the community and the support of our donors we're able to provide even more in January and February than maybe we normally do."
The next big distribution to help those in need on Jan. 28 at the Virignia Beach Ampitheater. Two thousand families will be served.
To learn more on how you can volunteer click here.
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