Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on Aug. 11, 1957, spoke to an audience in Montgomery, Alabama, and spoke about helping others and its role in overcoming challenges.

“An individual has not started living fully until they can rise above the narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of humanity … Every person must decide at some point, whether they will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Philosopher Theodor Adorno, in 1962, wrote about how societal progress takes place when we help rather than harm those around us.

“It would be advisable to think of progress in the crudest, most basic terms: that no one should go hungry anymore …”

King and Adorno, in the course of their lifetimes, have put into their actions and words what members of the Cumberland County community are doing now and celebrated recently with the ribbon cutting of the Cumberland County Food Bank at 1550 Anderson Highway.

An organizer for Cumberland Community Cares (CCC) said in a news release that the food bank was named after Delma Branch, “a longtime community organizer who was committed to bringing nutritious food for wholesome meals to the residents of Cumberland County.”

The release cited that the ribbon cutting will be in honor of the “longtime efforts of Delma Branch and many other community members.”

Food insecurity is a widespread problem in the Heart of Virginia. It’s a challenge that still is a long way from being overcome. We also have an enormous amount of people who give their time, energy and love feeding their neighbors and helping those who have fallen on difficult times.

For those who have set an example of helping those around them, thank you.

This food bank will offer invaluable assistance to those who need it. I hope this food bank will be another step in societal progress in the Heart of Virginia and that there could be a day where no one would go hungry anymore.

EMILY HOLLINGSWORTH is a staff reporter for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. Her email address is Emily.Hollingsworth@FarmvilleHerald.com.