Happy New Year from AFAC!

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January 2020

Census 2020

AFAC is part of Arlington County's Complete Count Committee, a group of organizations working to help all Arlingtonians be represented in the 2020 Census. This year, the Census will be completed entirely online or by phone. You'll receive a notice with instructions in the mail as soon as March 12. Keep posted for volunteer opportunities in March and April to help AFAC clients complete the Census. And be sure to complete the Census for your household, too! For more information, click here.

Featured Donation Item of the Month

Use Amazon Smile’s Charity Lists to donate food and have it shipped directly to AFAC! For the month of January, help restock AFAC shelves with hearty canned soups, a perfect item to keep families warm in this cold month. Click here to learn more about our revolving charity lists and to access this month's items on Amazon.

Upcoming Events

Empty Bowls

February 2

Tickets have SOLD OUT for this year's annual Empty Bowls event! Thank you so much to our sponsors, donors, and patrons who will make this event successful!

Shining A Light on Hunger

March 26

Join AFAC at our annual Spring event, Shining A Light on Hunger! Don’t miss out on food, fun, and dancing at the Army Navy Country Club as we Shine a Light on Hunger and honor those in our community who contribute to AFAC’s success of feeding our neighbors in need.

For sponsorship inquiries or event questions, please contact Jolie Smith at Jolie.Smith@afac.org.

Volunteer Needs

AFAC Survey Volunteers Needed!

We need dozens of helpful and friendly volunteers to conduct our annual client surveys. We'll be doing surveys at 19 sites across the County over a three week span in February. We will be putting up the specific times and locations on the calendar shortly. However, if you speak Amharic, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, or Vietnamese, email us at volunteer4afac@afac.org and we will identify the places and times where we need your help the most.

Wednesday Afternoon Helper

We are looking for someone to help one of our staff drivers with our Career Center food distribution on Wednesdays from 12:00-4:00pm. You'll be riding with a staff driver and helping to load and unload the van. You must be comfortable with the physical aspects of this job, at least 18 years old, and not mind bad weather. The spots are open on our volunteer calendar. We recommend trying it once or twice before signing up for multiple shifts.

Become a Master Food Volunteer!

Combine your love of cooking, nutrition, physical activity, and helping others by becoming a Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Food Volunteer! Participants receive 30 hours of training over four days on basic nutrition, meal planning, cooking techniques, food safety, and working with diverse audiences. Click here for more information or email Aisha Salazar asalazar@vt.edu.

Volunteer Spotlight

Prep Room Helpers

During distribution and on weekday afternoons, we have several volunteers who help sort through the fresh produce that has been donated the day or two prior. It takes some training and knowledge to understand our criteria but these volunteers do an excellent job in helping reduce food waste and making sure clients get healthy fruits and vegetables while still in prime condition. Our prep room helpers are also responsible for restocking during distribution so that our distribution volunteers can fully engage with our clients. We count on their help every day!

Thank You

Lots of food packed with vitamin C on AFAC shelves due to recent donations! Thank you to H-B Woodlawn for donating 2,551 lbs of oranges, Washington-Liberty HS for donating 11,000 lbs of oranges, and Los Amigos de las Americas for donating 2,524 lbs of citrus in December!

Thank you to all those who held food drives or donated to Plot Against Hunger in January!

Accenture Federal Services LLC; Arlington Church of the Brethren; Arlington County Office of Economic Development; Arlington County's Aging & Disability Services Division; Arlington County's Sheriff Office; Arlington Department of Human Services; Army Navy Country Club; Around Town Movers; Ashlawn Elementary; Avalon Bay; AVA Ballston Apartments; BAE Systems; Bethel UCC; Belvedere Apartments; Bicycling Realty Group; Blue Bird Daycare; Brigade of Mercy; Buchanan Apartments; Campbell Elementary; Cherrydale Branch Library; Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints; Christ Church of Arlington; Central Library & Garden; Clarendon 1201; Columbia Pike Branch Library; Comcast; Concord Apartments; Crown Consulting; Crystal Flats; CWT Sato Travel; Decision Lens; Dittmar; Elizabeth Daffin; Energy Club; Federal Lock and Safe; First Presbyterian Church & Garden; Gartner; Gerber; Girl Scout Troop #60142; Girl Scout Troop #60199; Graham – Bell; Gramercy Apartments; Great Harvest Bread; Halstead Tower by Windsor; HB Woodlawn; Hilton Garden Inn Shirlington; Holiday Inn - National Airport; Horizon House; Hyde Park Condominiums; Io Piazza; Jefferson Arbor at Broadlands; Kinder Haus Toys; Lancaster Co-Op CSA; Langan; Lexington Apartments; Light Up the Village; Main Event Caterers; Mediabarn; Mike Webb Team; NACD; Oakridge Elementary; Our Savior Lutheran Church; Park at Arlington Ridge; Penzey's Spices; Pipl, Inc.; Rails - To - Trails Conservancy; Rapid7; Renaissance Hotel; Residences at Lyon Hill; Reston Glade; Restoration Anglican Church; Resurrection Lutheran Church and Garden; Riskspan; Rock Spring UCC & Garden; Savan Group LLC.; Sienna Park; SRI International; Stratford – Bell; Station 650; St. Andrew's Episcopal Church & Garden; St. Ann's Catholic Church; St. John's Episcopal Church; St. Michael's Episcopal Church; Sun & Moon Yoga; Taylor Elementary; Temple Rodef Shalom; Territory Foods; Thirsty Bernies; Trinity Episcopal Church; The Chatham; The Conservation Fund; The Dorchester; The Madison Ballston Station; The Old Guard; The Surge Church; The Wittmer; United Community Ministries; USDA Agricultural Research Service; US Fish & Wildlife Services; Verde Pointe; Washington Accueil; Washington Field Hockey Association; Washington-Liberty High School; Waverly Hills Civic Association; Westover Baptist Church; Westover Branch Library & Garden; WETA; Williamsburg Middle School

Big thanks to the Arlington Public Schools that donate healthy snacks on a weekly basis as a part of the Food Bus program: Abingdon ES, Arlington Science Focus ES, Arlington Traditional ES, Ashlawn ES, Discovery ES, McKinley ES, Nottingham ES, Oakridge ES, Tuckahoe ES, Temple Rodef Shalom's Religious School, and Washington-Liberty HS.