Livingstone College To Feed Homeless People Friday In Honor Of Dr. King Holiday

SALISBURY – Livingstone College will deploy its mobile food unit into the community to feed homeless individuals in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

On Friday, Jan. 13, Livingstone’s Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts’ 53-foot mobile food unit will be stationed at the Salisbury Civic Center parking lot from 3-5 pm, where culinary arts students and college volunteers will serve food to those living without housing. The center is located at 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue South.

This will be the first time the unit has participated in a service project such as this, said Elizabeth Marquez, director of Livingstone’s Culinary Arts Program. 

The students will serve chicken noodle soup with crackers, turkey and cheddar, and roast beef and Swiss sandwiches, complete with lettuce, tomatoes, condiments, cookies, chips, a piece of fruit, and bottled water.

The mobile food unit is a captivating feature of Livingstone’s culinary arts program. It has a TV and fireplace, a fully functional kitchen, and a dining space.

The college is collaborating with Dennis Rivers, victims/homeless liaison with the Salisbury Police Department, on the project. According to Rivers, the Salisbury Civic Center is a central location for the concentration of homeless individuals in the area.

Livingstone will also collect gloves, socks, and scarves to distribute to the homeless at the event.

Social work majors from the college will also be on hand for community engagement and conversation.

The King holiday is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage people to volunteer to improve their communities.

“Livingstone College will serve food to our neighbors in need in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Dr. Anthony J. Davis, Livingstone’s 13th president. “Engagement is a part of our prescription for success. No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Davis said one of King’s most profound quotes will serve as the blueprint for how Livingstone celebrates the man and his message under his administration: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

This is Livingstone’s inaugural King service project, but the college is planning to expand upon it to include not only homeless people but the underserved and the under-resourced in our community as well.

Livingstone’s Office of Admissions will also participate in the MLK Community Resource Fair at the Salisbury Civic Center on Jan. 14. 

About Livingstone College

Livingstone College is a private historically black college that is secured by a strong commitment to quality instruction, academic excellence, and student success. Through a Christian-based environment suitable for holistic learning, Livingstone provides excellent business, liberal arts, STEAM, teacher education, and workforce development programs for students from all ethnic backgrounds designed to promote lifelong learning and to develop student potential for leadership and service to a global community. For more information, visit www.livingstone.edu.