This past Wednesday, Metallica held their first-ever Day Of Service, an opportunity for fans to join the band members in chipping in at food banks and giving back to their communities. The event was an extension of the group's charitable All Within My Hands Foundation, which aids in critical local services and supports workforce education and the fight against hunger.

Drummer Lars Ulrich pitched in at the San Francisco–Marin Food Bank, where he packed oranges into crates for people in need and rubbed elbows with fans. Ulrich told Rolling Stone why it was important for Metallica to shed light on the cause and what he learned from it. An excerpt follows:

Says Lars: "We have an incredible life. We are very fortunate to travel the world, playing music and connecting with people in live settings, creating intimacy and sharing an experience. As we continue this endeavor into our fourth decade, the notion of others participating in the goodwill and good fortune that's generated from this incredible journey is one that has been impossible to ignore for many years.

"Being in Metallica, our language and culture have always had a bit of cynicism as part of the main driving force: ask questions, don't trust, don't believe, etc. For many years, we were quite skeptical about certain elements of the charitable path that we saw some of our peers in the entertainment world take. We would at best be doubtful about the grandstanding that others often took in their efforts that ended up primarily looking like they were patting themselves on their backs and trying to steal the spotlight away from their supposed good deeds.

"So for many years, Metallica gave back almost 100 percent under the radar. In cities we would play, we would work closely with food banks and not only make sure that the massive amounts of uneaten meals from the backstage catering and dressing rooms would end up in the hands of the needy, but also support these local charities with donations."

Read Lars' full statement at RollingStone.com.

As previously reported, Lars presented the San Francisco–Marin Food Bank with a check for $5,000. But that wasn't all, reports ABC7News, the heavy metal star also jumped in to do some heavy lifting, sorting fruit to be distributed by the food bank. It's a mission the band hopes to spread worldwide.

"Our primary thing for the last year has been, all over where Metallica goes to, to support local food banks. We write checks in every city. We just played a 39-day European tour where we wrote checks to the local food banks," says Ulrich.

Read more and watch video footage at ABC7News.

Says Metallica: "A huge thank you to all of the Metallica fans who participated in our very first All Within My Hands Foundation Day of Service at food banks across the nation. We encourage all of the Metallica family to volunteer your time whenever you can as the good people who run these food banks always need assistance.

Visit FeedingAmerica.org (Feeding America) to find a local food bank in your community in the US and, for those living abroad, ask around to locate a food bank near you to lend a hand. Thank you all for making this happen."