Food Bank of the Southern Tier Celebrates MLK Day with Day of Service

The Food Bank of the Southern Tier is taking today to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day by looking deeper into the root causes of hunger and inequality.
Each year the food bank of the Southern Tier welcomes volunteers from the community for a day of service, allowing them to give back in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dylen Roderick Volunteer Coordinator at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier says, "The room is electric with energy and we're all in there. We're all doing the same kind of work and we're all working together. But we also have a good time. We love that fun while we're working and what we do really matters, but also the community that we're able to build. And doing some meaningful work is incredible."
Over 100 people volunteered their time today throughout several sessions, packaging over 5,000 pounds of cereal and nearly 3,000 bags for the backpack program.
The program helps send food home with students making sure they have food outside of school hours.
First-time Volunteers Teo and Nia Rahm said, "[Nia]I'm just excited to feed other families." Yeah, [Teo]I'm also excited to do that too, this is a good thing to do. "
Two first-time helpers with a strong sense of volunteerism at a young age.
Today's event also included a hunger workshop and racial wealth gap simulation to learn more about some of the issues that affect food insecurity. Hopefully leaving volunteers with not just the good feeling of giving back, but a deeper understanding of the issues facing out community.
Randi Quackenbush VP of Community Impact with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier said, "It's hard in the moment to know that impact, but I've heard that from several people. So my hope is that people kind of carry a rough carry with them forward, the education that they received and have conversations with their friends that are engaged and that want to do more and be involved."
If you missed today's event, there are many opportunities to volunteer any other day of the week.
You can sign up by visiting the Food Bank of the Southern Tier Website.