{"id":22202,"date":"2025-02-11T13:56:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T18:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?p=22202"},"modified":"2025-02-19T10:37:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T15:37:19","slug":"2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/","title":{"rendered":"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 20, 2025, the\u00a0Orange County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Initiative<\/a>\u00a0participated in the U.S. Hunger 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0Annual MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack<\/a> in collaboration with the Orlando Mayor\u2019s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission<\/a>. Up to 4,500 volunteers, with 21 local sponsors, helped pack 1,013,580 healthy meals. The event also raised $10,000 for scholarship funds for local students pursuing careers in service and technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unlike any other event because you have thousands of people coming together under the same roof to pack a million meals in a single day,\u201d said Lavon Williams, deputy director, Orange County Community Action Division. \u201cEvery meal packed has been sent to food pantries across Central Florida, helping our neighbors in need secure that next meal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams added that what also makes the event so special is the community coming together in the spirit of Dr. King to demonstrate the passion we have for our neighbors on a very historic day in our country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about selflessness and volunteerism with the objective of combatting food insecurity,\u201d she explained. \u201cWorking together to pack meals with your friends, coworkers and neighbors \u2013 and having fun doing it \u2013 to\u00a0give someone the gift of their next meal is absolutely worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orlando Mayor Jerry L. Demings created the Orange County Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Initiative<\/a> in the spirit of bringing the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to unincorporated areas of Orange County and the surrounding community. Dr. King\u2019s lifelong commitment to civil rights, nonviolence and justice for all has inspired those who came after him to continue his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe dedicated his life to public service, and we do this to honor his legacy,\u201d said Mayor Demings. \u201cOur goal with the MLK Jr. Initiative and everything else we endeavor to do is make a difference through community service.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Williams, seeing all walks of life work together\u00a0toward a common goal of improving quality of life for their neighbors is truly inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows that the effort everyone puts in helps us achieve the unthinkable,\u201d she said, \u201cand in doing so, each volunteer has helped spread positivity throughout Central Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also stressed that Orange County warmly welcomes anyone in the community to volunteer. \u201cWe would love to see you at next year\u2019s event so you can join in on the fun challenge and feel good knowing every meal you help pack will bring food security to our community,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

The Million Meal Pack was held at the Orange County Convention Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information, go to U.S. Hunger<\/a> and Orange County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On January 20, 2025, the\u00a0Orange County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Initiative\u00a0participated in the U.S. Hunger 2nd\u00a0Annual MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack in collaboration with the Orlando Mayor\u2019s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. Up to 4,500 volunteers, with 21 local sponsors, helped pack 1,013,580 healthy meals. The event also raised $10,000 for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":22203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[697],"class_list":["post-22202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-services","tag-community-and-family-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On January 20, 2025, the\u00a0Orange County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Initiative\u00a0participated in the U.S. Hunger 2nd\u00a0Annual MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack in collaboration with the Orlando Mayor\u2019s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. Up to 4,500 volunteers, with 21 local sponsors, helped pack 1,013,580 healthy meals. The event also raised $10,000 for […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OCFL Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-11T18:56:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T15:37:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1704\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Romero\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OrangeCoFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Romero\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Romero\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a48aae4d9682c49980e8bfb742c62e4a\"},\"headline\":\"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-11T18:56:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T15:37:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\"},\"wordCount\":448,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Community and Family Services\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Community & Services\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\",\"name\":\"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-11T18:56:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T15:37:19+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1704},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/\",\"name\":\"OCFL Newsroom\",\"description\":\"Orange County, Florida | Government Newsroom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Orange County Government Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png\",\"width\":504,\"height\":504,\"caption\":\"Orange County Government Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/OrangeCoFL\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ocfl\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/orange-county-government\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCff6MZzeWNpXg6TCU3jdxbA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a48aae4d9682c49980e8bfb742c62e4a\",\"name\":\"Chris Romero\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success","og_description":"On January 20, 2025, the\u00a0Orange County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Initiative\u00a0participated in the U.S. Hunger 2nd\u00a0Annual MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack in collaboration with the Orlando Mayor\u2019s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. Up to 4,500 volunteers, with 21 local sponsors, helped pack 1,013,580 healthy meals. The event also raised $10,000 for […]","og_url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/","og_site_name":"OCFL Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/","article_published_time":"2025-02-11T18:56:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-19T15:37:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1704,"url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Romero","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@OrangeCoFL","twitter_site":"@OrangeCoFL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Romero","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Romero","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a48aae4d9682c49980e8bfb742c62e4a"},"headline":"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success","datePublished":"2025-02-11T18:56:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T15:37:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/"},"wordCount":448,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Community and Family Services"],"articleSection":["Community & Services"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/","name":"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-11T18:56:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T15:37:19+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01-20-2025-us-hunger-with-orange-county-mlk-initiative-day-of-service_54276935717_o-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1704},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2025\/02\/2nd-annual-mlk-day-of-service-million-meal-pack-a-huge-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack a Huge Success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/","name":"OCFL Newsroom","description":"Orange County, Florida | Government Newsroom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#organization","name":"Orange County Government Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/NEWS-APP-DropShadow.png","width":504,"height":504,"caption":"Orange County Government Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OrangeCountyFlorida\/","https:\/\/x.com\/OrangeCoFL","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ocfl\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/orange-county-government","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCff6MZzeWNpXg6TCU3jdxbA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/#\/schema\/person\/a48aae4d9682c49980e8bfb742c62e4a","name":"Chris Romero"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22202"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22247,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22202\/revisions\/22247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}