HAMPTON, Va. — On Monday, the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
To honor the civil rights activist and his legacy, people across the country — and here in Hampton Roads — spent the day serving others.
Dozens of volunteers worked at the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank Monday morning collecting and organizing donations.
The Foodbank's chief operating officer, Renee Figurelle, said it’s an annual event every MLK Day.
"[King] was about volunteering and giving back to the community and that's what we're doing today,” she said. "We have 70 volunteers here today, volunteering, doing all kinds of different things for the Foodbank.”
She said her team hosts the annual food donation with help from the city of Newport News. She said the goal is to fight food insecurity and give back to those who need it most.
"It's a big issue and people don't think about it. We think about giving back food during the holidays but everybody eats every single day. When you're food insecure: it's hard to concentrate; it's hard to keep a job,” Figurelle said.
"We're here to give you a hand up and once you can get back on your feet, then you can give a hand back to the food bank."
As community members drove up with donations, volunteers mobilized: organizing boxes, stacking canned goods, and sorting non-perishable food. It's an effort spearheaded by Newport News city leaders. Members of the city's police department, fire department, and sheriff's office all came together to help.
Congressman Bobby Scott and Attorney General Jason Miyares also stopped by to thank volunteers for their good work.
"It really embodies what Dr. King's vision really is. Dr. King's vision was a vision for all Americans. My family came here from Cuba; What Dr. King did is, he opened the door to America being a place for everybody of every background,” Miyares said.
"Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King - near the end of her life - said, the way people should recognize Dr. King's legacy is actually making this day, a day of service.”
Newport News mayor Phillip Jones said this day of service food drive is a long-standing initiative started under the city's previous mayor and he's committed to keeping the donation drive going.
"This is not a day off. This is a day on, of service,” Jones said. "Food insecurity – it's not just a city issue, it's a regional issue. To have this facility here in the middle of Newport News and Hampton, a place where we have large amounts of food insecurity, it means a great deal to me. It was a priority of Mayor Price and it will be a priority of mine going forward.”