Obama administration promotes volunteerism in Atlanta ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - A top Obama administration official Thursday called on Metro Atlantans to volunteer.

It's part of a big federal push for service and at least one local organization says it can use the help.

Canned goods are chucked into large bins inside the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Volunteers like Mary Evelyn Gibert sort through each can and discard ones that are damaged or expired.

GIBERT: "It's very important to give people good food and we don't want to give them anything that's not good."

Gibert, a retiree, has helped out here for more than 7 years. She's one of 1100 hundred volunteers a month helping to feed the hungry in more than 38 Georgia counties.

GIBERT: "So much is donated and it just takes a lot of volunteers to go through it and see whether it's alright to pass on."

That's why Kathleen Merrigan is putting out the call. Merrigan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's deputy secretary, says President Obama is looking for a few good men and women for his "United We Serve" initiative.

MERRIGAN: "We need individuals to stand up and say, "I can find a few hours this week to help out. I'm going to come down here to the food bank and help sort food and make sure people get what they need. We're calling for volunteers. We need your help."

Through stimulus money, the USDA has given the food bank more than 200 thousand dollars worth of food so places like Friends of St. Martin can help people feed their families. Mike Hardin directs the Friends' food ministry. Hardin, himself, has enough volunteers.

HARDIN: " where I need 12 to 15 they need 30, 40, 50 to sort out all that food."

There's more food because more people are hungry. Last year, Hardin's church only came to the food bank once a week.

HARDIN: "We're coming to the food bank twice a week now. Each time we come we get 2500 to 2800 pounds of food and that's not enough."

These days, Hardin's church serves more families and larger ones. Non-profits rely heavily volunteers. That's why Mary Evelyn Gibert says it's worth her while.

GIBERT: " it's rewarding in every way. It's people you can work with and knowing you can help out in some way."
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