Obama Makes Burritos For Needy on MLK Day

By Arlette Saenz January 20, 2014

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

President Obama donned an apron and gloves to help make burritos for the needy in Washington, D.C., today in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

The president and first family visited DC Central Kitchen to celebrate the organization's 25th anniversary and help prepare some meals which would later be delivered to local shelters.

"We are noting the 25th anniversary of this outstanding institution and very proud to be a part of that, and we just want to thank everybody who's here for all the great work they do," the president said as he wore a white apron and scooped vegetables into a tortilla.

His daughter Sasha stood next to him and filled the tortillas with meat before handing them over to the president.

"Sasha's technique is outstanding by the way. I'm very proud of her," the president said. The president mistakenly identified the meat as lamb before a volunteer pointed out it was beef.

First Lady Michelle Obama, daughter Malia, and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett assembled meals at a separate table.

DC Central Kitchen is the country's first community kitchen that makes 5,000 daily meals out of local produce and leftover food. The community kitchen also features a Culinary Job Training Program, which enrolls unemployed, severely at-risk men and women to make portions of the meals.

Vice President Joe Biden participated in a separate service event in honor of MLK Day. Wearing a green apron and blue hat, the vice president served hot meals with volunteers from the Catholic Volunteer Network at So Others Might Eat, which serves the poor and homeless community in Washington, D.C.