More than 100 local volunteers worked an assembly line on Jan. 20 to fill 1,400 WeekEnd Hunger Backpacks for local children, provided by the Valley of the Sun United Way in Phoenix (submitted photo).

As the nation commemorated the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the annual MLK Day of Service, more than 100 local volunteers on Jan. 20 served Valley families by helping to end hunger—a cause shared by Dr. King and Valley of the Sun United Way.

Of the 82,000 households in Maricopa County that experience chronic hunger, nearly half include children. For these children, weekends are an especially difficult time. Without school breakfast and lunch programs—sometimes their only reliable source of food—they cannot count on getting regular meals over the weekend.

To help nourish local children during the weekends, United Way volunteers assembled food bags with non-perishable meals for 1,400 WeekEnd Hunger backpacks. These nutritious, low-fat meals will be provided to six Phoenix Destination Graduation partner schools to help local children get through the weekends and come to school Monday ready to learn and encouraged to pursue their dreams.

Valley of the Sun United Way is located at 1515 E. Osborn Road. Visit www.vsuw.org to learn more about how you can help end hunger in the community.