First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden gathered with spouses of Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle at the Capitol Area Food bank to prepare bags of food for the “Food for Kids” program on Wednesday, April 29. The group of high-profile volunteers rolled up their sleeves and prepared more than 2,000 bags of food for hungry children in the greater DC area. Mrs. Obama used the event as an opportunity to highlight the importance of national service.

I’ve built a career on volunteerism and community service. It is something that I am passionate about, and I wanted to bring that to the work of the First Lady, into the administration. And this is just one very important, very visible example of how a group of people can come together and feed thousands of kids, which is what we’re doing here today.

Mrs. Obama focused on the bipartisan nature of the gathering, reinforcing the fact that national service is an ideal embraced by leaders, as well as ordinary Americans.

I just think it’s important for America to see you all here doing this and for us doing it together, not as Republicans or Democrats or Independents. There is no ideology; these are just all of us people who care about our country and want to make service a core part of the work that we do.

The First Lady’s passion for national service, and long-standing commitment to social innovation, are an inspiration. As Wednesday’s event demonstrated national service is a powerful force for change that Americans of all ages, backgrounds, and political affiliations can support.

Read the First Lady’s Remarks here.