ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- On Monday, January 20th, the nation celebrated two milestones: the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the civil rights leader's legacy of service and equality.

In the Southern Tier, the Food Bank of the Southern Tier embraced Dr. King's message of giving back, hosting a day of service to help food-insecure families across nine counties. Volunteers packed backpacks and cereal boxes to provide much-needed meals for families in need.

"The unsung part of Martin Luther King's work is towards the end of his life," says Lyndsey Lyman, Community Empowerment Manager at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. "When he moved, he talked about moving from an era of civil rights to an era of human rights and he was bringing together folks of all these different backgrounds, you know, people who were coming from different races, different ethnicities, working together to make sure that people had what they need."

Volunteers including community members and local leaders, joined forces to make a difference. 

"It's Martin Luther King Day," Food Bank Volunteer and Assembly Member Phil Palmesano, (R) Corning shared. "They do this every year on Martin Luther King Day, day of service, and certainly Dr. King was about service and community, and to have this volunteer effort on Martin Luther King Day is appropriate and fitting and, I just think, sends a tremendous message to the public that let's give back to our community."

Organizers spent the day working through different community activities like racial wealth gap simulation, packing food, tours of the food bank, and much more to represent a community looking to give back.

"First thing is we scoop it from big, vast vats of cereal into bags," said volunteer Denise Holland. " [We then] weigh it to be exactly two pounds today for this project. Then we have people twist tying at the end and then loading it into bags or boxes so they can be counted at the end to go out to the mobile food sites."

Food insecurity is not only a local problem; it is also a problem nationwide. In 2023, Feeding America reported nearly 14 million children faced hunger. That number was twice as likely for children who are Black and Latino.

However, in the Southern Tier alone, Lyman says, one in six children is food insecure and doesn't know where their next meal will come from. Efforts like the one spent on Martin Luther King Jr., day happen year-round with local organizations like the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. 

"That's exactly what we're doing here. We're meeting the need that people have today and we're doing that education to look at the root causes and get to those long-term solutions in the long run," explained Lyman. 

Martin Luther King Jr. made his message prominent and one that will last throughout history, 63 years ago on August 28th, 1968 when he gave his "I Have A Dream Speech."

King died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee around one hour after being shot by assassin James Earl Ray. January 20th is King's birthday and the reason his legacy is honored and celebrated today annually.