Community service has always been part of Merrimack’s core values—and the driving force behind Mack Gives Back, an annual series of service events that commemorate Veterans Day and Saint Augustine’s birthday. In recent years, in lieu of the usual projects, such as landscaping, painting and outdoor cleanup activities, Merrimack students, faculty and staff focused their efforts on addressing food insecurity. Over the past year, the 1,000 plus volunteers held six events and provided a total of 186,000 meals to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank and Lazarus House.