Nearly 400 volunteers showed up at Beltway Plaza on Monday, January 21 to assemble and distribute bags of free groceries to those in need.
The event, called A Day ON to Feed the Community, gave volunteers the opportunity to observe the federal holiday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a day of service. Beltway Plaza hosted the event, organized with the National Capital Baptist Convention and County Council Member at-large Mel Franklin.
Franklin thanked Beltway Plaza for hosting the event and stated, “The Federal Government may be shut down, but love, compassion and serving each other is not shut down in Prince George’s County.” He added that “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is looking down on these volunteers right now.”
While the event had a festive atmosphere, it was not logistically easy. Volunteers showed up at the mall in unexpectedly large numbers. Many children and teenagers volunteered their efforts to help bag produce and give out food. Most volunteers registered in advance and those who showed up extemporaneously brought the total to around 400. As stores began to open at 10 a.m., wrangling the large volume of food and volunteers was a challenge.