Volunteers pack meals for families in need, honoring Dr. King’s legacy

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) – About 800 volunteers packed 200,000 meals, helping families in Flint and honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s spirit of service.

The hundreds of people were participating in United Way of Genesee County’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

“A lot of holidays we just celebrate with our family and friends,” said James Gaskin, CEO of United Way of Genesee County. “This is really about coming together as a community and celebrating volunteerism.”

The meals will stock local food pantries, helping families facing food insecurity in Genesee and Shiawassee counties.

“Especially in the last few years, the cost of food has risen so dramatically,” said Gaskin. “Yet folks that are struggling to provide that food, their wages haven’t gone up to match that, right? So, we have more and more people that are finding themselves for the first time needing a hand.”

On a day set aside to honor Dr. King, Gaskin said service is a meaningful way to celebrate his legacy.

“Dr. King’s legacy is so much about nonviolence and service, right?” said Gaskin. “And really, today we’re celebrating that service piece of his message by lifting up community together.”

For some, volunteering has become a yearly tradition.

“This would be my third year,” said Volunteer Evalyn Yager. “It’s just nice knowing that we’re helping and making a difference.”

For others, this was their first time.

“I’ve been doing a whole lot in our assembly line,” said Volunteer Tiffani Calhoun. “We’ve filled up some bags with different rice and grains and beans. And, you know, I really like just like hyping up our team.”

The next generation is also continuing to carry the message of serving others.

“You’re having fun with your friends and spreading kindness to other people,” said Volunteer Jonny.

“I’ve been doing like the station where we put on the stickers like and then we package them into the box and then we yell our team name, which is really fun and exciting,” said Volunteer Max.

“It’s not just helping people, it’s also teamwork,” said Volunteer Eliana. “We’re all working together.”

It shows unity in the community.

“When you’re bringing together people of all different backgrounds, all different ages, all different experiences, and celebrating together to make the world a better place, we think that’s kind of doing exactly what Dr. King would have us do in his memory,” said Gaskin.

United Way said the meals will start going out as early as the day they were packaged.

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