 Holiday Food Drives
Every year, more and more Arlingtonians arrive at AFAC in need of food assistance. This holiday season, we need your help to ensure that they can gather their families around a warm meal.
Click here
to learn more about the holiday food drive and
click here
to register online.
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Hope Against Hunger Holiday Campaign
 Help bring Hope Against Hunger to families in need this holiday season. Your donation of $25 can sponsor a family with a Thanksgiving meal that includes a turkey, fresh produce, milk, eggs, and bread.
Click here to donate today!
Want to get your company/organization involved to sponsor more families? Create your own Hope Against Hunger fundraising page! We'll keep track of your team's progress and provide a sharable link to your page.
Click here to learn more.
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 CANstruction
Reagan National Airport
Through November 4
AIA Northern Virginia's 14th annual
Canstruction is currently on display at Reagan National Airport's baggage claim terminals B & C through November 4. In case you can't make it out there to see the structures first hand, view pictures on
AIA's Instagram page.
Thank you to the following teams for their participation in this year's event: HGA Architects and Engineers, LandDesign & Rust|Orling Architecture, KGD Architecture, PGAL & JVP Engineers, Little, Samaha Associates, MTFA Architecture, IBI Group, and CADD Microsystems.
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Arlington Turkey Trot
November 23
Turkey Trot organizers are hosting a happy hour at New District Brewery (behind AFAC) on Thursday, November 2 from 5:30-7:30pm. A portion of the sales go to Arlington Turkey Trot nonprofits, including AFAC!
Don't like to run but want to contribute? We are looking for Turkey Trot volunteers! See our
online calendar for shifts.
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Volunteer Needs
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Friday afternoons
: We're looking for volunteers to sort and bag the food donations that come in from local grocery stores.
Office help: We need some help scanning some older documents in our office. We've set aside the time from 3:00-4:30 pm for this task and we think Wednesday is the best day for it (though we could be flexible). In addition to scanning, you might be asked to stuff envelopes or help organize in some other capacity. You must have a little bit of technical know-how, since you'll be working on the computer and our commercial copying machine.
 Drivers: We're starting to ramp up our driving season, delivering food drive boxes and picking up small-medium food drives. If you have flexibility during the work week, have a decent sized car, and love to drive to different parts of Arlington, this is the job for you. We can work with your schedule and areas. If you'd like to help with this effort, please email [email protected]. Our busy season is November 1-January 8. This is also a fantastic temporary volunteer job for college kids home for winter break.
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Empty Bowls
February 4
Are you a potter or know local ceramicists? AFAC seeks donations of bowls for AFAC's 6th annual
Empty Bowls Fundraiser on Sunday, February 4, 2018.
Contact
[email protected] for information on how to donate to this delicious community event that brings together the talents of visual, culinary and musical artists.
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Gleaning Notes
AFAC volunteers harvested a cornucopia of crops these past few weeks. We joined the Society of St. Andrews' Winchester Branch at Marker-Miller Farm to pick apples and harvested 1,074 pounds. From the Agriculture Research Service at USDA, volunteers (including those from Association of Chain Drug Stores, Crystal City Hilton, PNC Bank and Taylor Elementary School) gleaned 5,078 lbs of zucchini, patty pan squash, collards, winter squash, and pumpkins (just in time for Halloween). This Tuesday, volunteers picked 200 lbs of peppers, eggplants, and basil from Bull Run Mountain Farm in The Plains, VA. Thank you to all the farmers and volunteers who've helped bring in tens of thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables to our client-families this season.
 Thank you to Arlington House/Arlington Cemetery for passing on herbs from their colonial kitchen garden. Pots of thyme, rosemary, oregano and rue have been transplanted into AFAC Plot Against Hunger gardens for safe-keeping as that historic property prepares for an extensive renovation. Rue (pictured) is an ancient herb that is not commonly used in American kitchens, but which is valued by our Eritrean and Ethiopian clients for its bitter flavor and use in berbere, the cultural spice mix.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Garden Season Recap
 Dave Smith, garden coordinator at St. Andrew's Church, reports that 2,497 lbs of fresh produce was grown for AFAC on their extensive garden/orchard this summer. In addition to a core group of volunteers from the church, many other groups helped the effort: students and professors from Marymount University's "Food For Thought" club, Falls Church Resurrection Parish, NOVA Jr. League, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Ambassador Bible Church, Episcopal High School, and Portico Church. Last weekend, gardeners "put the garden to bed" -- pulled out irrigation lines, dressed and mulched the garden -- and are settling in for a well-deserved nap! Many thanks to Dave and Doris Smith, and Ted and Anne Edwards for their leadership. Read more in our Plot blog.
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Thank You
 A few weeks ago AFAC participated in the Health and Housing-LAIF Fair. Thanks to Jackie, Michal, Cynthia, and Michelle for all their help running a smoothie bike, which was provided by Arlington Parks & Recreation. It was berry fun!
A very scary thanks to the organizers of the Douglas Park Trail of Terrors who collected 825 pounds of canned goods for our neighbors in need.
Shout out to the George Mason High School Student Council Association for raising $2,100 at their 4th annual Halloween Hootenanny last Friday!
 Thanks to Becky Halbe, Anne Coddington, Sandy Burkholder, Marilyn Thomson, Reevesland Learning Center, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture for their help with our October display on Agriculture in Arlington. The display highlighted the change from rural to urban agriculture in Arlington during the past 250 years.
Thank you to the schools who donated leftovers from the Food Bus program: Arlington Science Focus ES, Arlington Traditional ES, Discovery ES, McKinley ES, Nottingham ES, Tuckahoe ES, Temple Rodef Shalom's Religious School.
 Many thanks to Clarendon Wealth Management for donating 871 pounds of canned goods to AFAC!
Thank you to Temple Rodef Shalom for collecting 430 pounds of nonperishable goods and for purchasing and bagging 432 pounds of rice and beans!
Thank you to Falls Church Episcopal Church for taking part in our
Sponsor Purchase Food program, where they bagged 9,000 lbs of oranges, onions, red potatoes, and rutabaga at their location!
Thank you to all those who held food drives or donated to Plot Against Hunger!
 10th & Barton Community Garden, Agudas Achim Synagogue, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Zeta Chi Omega Chapter, Arlington Farmers' Market at Courthouse, Arlington House Garden, Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, Ballston Farmers' Market, Barrett Elementary Garden, Bo Pryor's Garden, Central Library & Garden, Clarendon Presbyterian Church & Garden, Columbia Pike Farmers' Market, Crystal City Farmers' Market, Emily Rhoades' Garden, Fairlington Farmers' Market, First Presbyterian Church & Garden, Flight Crews Care, Fort Barnard Community Garden, Glebe Community Garden, Good Food Company, Grace Community Church & Garden, Junior League of Northern Virginia, Kay Houghton Associates, Main Event Caterers, Marymount Farmers' Market, Mount Saint Mary's College, National Capital Area Environmental Health Association, NOVA Catholic Community, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Patrick Henry Elementary, Portico Church Arlington, Potomac Overlook Garden, Potomac Vegetable Farms, Resurrection City Church, Resurrection Lutheran Church & Garden, Rock Spring UCC & Garden, Roy Croom, Saint Ann Catholic Church, Shiftwork LLC, Shirlington Branch Library, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church & Garden, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Susan Howell's Gardens, Team Kids at Oakridge Elementary, Territory Foods, Thomas Jefferson M.S. Garden, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Walter Reed Community Garden, Westover Farmers' Market, Woman's Club of Arlington Garden
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Sincerely,
Charles F. Meng
Executive Director & CEO
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Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.
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