IN THE CLASSROOM:

How do you celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.? For 22 UCI students, the answer was, “With 25 crates of cabbage and plenty of green onions.”

Aiming to honor King with community action, the students harvested cabbage and onions for the hungry at the Incredible Edible Farm in Irvine; within a week, organizers said, the food will end up on the tables of those who need it, courtesy of the Second Harvest Food Bank.

It was all part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, a tradition that has grown nationwide over the past few years, and which got new notice this year with President Barack Obama’s participation in Washington this year.

UCI’s Center for Service in Action has partnered with the Volunteer Center of Orange County for three years to give students a way to help the community on that day.

Student interest in the day has grown over the past three years, said Darlene Esparza, director of the Center for Service in Action.

“It’s become more known on campus,” she said. “Especially this year, people were coming up and asking to join.”

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is getting extra attention this year, with the inauguration of the first black president, said Floyd Lai, interim director of the school’s Cross-Cultural Center, which organizes the activities around the holiday.

Community service fits right in, he added.

“I think we’re looking at his legacy from multiple angles this week,” Lai said. “Being able to get students out here is one part of that.”

Carlos Lopez spent two hours cutting ripe cabbages, then helping to dig up and clean green onions from a strip of suburban farm in an Irvine park. For him, feeding the hungry was an obvious connection to King and his emphasis on community action to improve society.

“I think so, especially since I’m majoring in social movements and social change,” he said, when asked if he saw a link.

“We talk about the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, and we’re out here trying to put those words into action. It’s what he would have wanted.”

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at michael.alexander@latimes.com.