Run (or Walk) Through the Woods for AFAC!

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April 5, 2019

Body by Ginny's 5K Obstacle Walk/Run for AFAC

The 7th annual Body by Ginny 5K Obstacle Walk/Run is right around the corner! Grab a team or sign up as an individual for this fun and easy run through Potomac Overlook Park on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 am. All ages and skill levels welcome! Thank you to SeKon Enterprises for being a top sponsor for the event!

Click here to sign up!

Shining A Light on Hunger

Thank you to everyone who made our Shining A Light on Hunger event successful, including all the sponsors (listed at the bottom of this email), guests, and volunteers who made it possible. Click here for photos from this event: https://www.flickr.com/photos/afac/albums/72157677390023327

More Upcoming Events

Click for a full list of upcoming events

South Block: Ballston "Block Party"

Saturday, April 6

9 am

South Block, a local juice bar chain, is partnering with AFAC and hosting its grand opening this Saturday to kickoff their newest location in Ballston! There will be giveaways, a DJ, live demos, and more! Proceeds from this event benefit AFAC through South Block’s Fruitful Planet initiative. Visit their webpage for more information!

Food Drive at BJ's

Saturday & Sunday, April 6 - 7

10 am - 6 pm

AFAC volunteers will be at the BJ's Wholesale Club (6607 Wilson Blvd.) this weekend to help collect donations for Arlington families in need! Stop by and help fill our van with cans! Share this event with others!

Stamp Out Hunger

Saturday, May 11

Each year, the National Association of Letter Carriers dedicates the 2nd Saturday of May to serving communities nationwide by collecting food to be delivered to local hunger organizations. In Arlington County, all food collected by letter carriers will come here to AFAC! Click for this year's flyer.

Volunteer Appreciation Picnic

Sunday, June 9

5 - 7 pm

Join us at the Arlington Food Assistance Center as we celebrate our wonderful volunteers! We’ll have great food, music and camaraderie! Spouses, partners and children are all welcome! More details to come.

Golf Tournament

Monday, September 16

12:30 pm start

AFAC's 5th annual Golf Tournament, sponsored by Credibility International, is moving to the Army Navy Country Club right here in Arlington! Foursomes and sponsorships are now available for purchase. Click here for more information.

Volunteering News

Volunteer Appreciation Week

April 7 - 13

Next week is National Volunteer Week! Do you have a favorite story to tell? Submit a video of yourself about why you volunteer and your favorite AFAC moment to [email protected] or through Facebook Messenger and we could feature you on our social media platforms! In the mean time, watch this video and hear why these volunteers volunteer for AFAC.

Van Drivers for Farmers Markets

Between the months of May and November, our three volunteer vans are very busy picking up at three farmers' markets on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We're looking for volunteers who are not intimidated by driving a large vehicle and are willing to make a commitment of twice per month for about 90 minutes each time. You would pick up the van, go to your assigned market and pick up donations, return to AFAC and put the items in the cooler. It's best if you work with a friend/family member, but we can also arrange to have volunteers meet you at AFAC or at the market.

If you are interested, you will have to provide a copy of your driver's license and driving record. Please email [email protected] if interested.

Smaller Pickups at Farmers Markets

If van driving is not your thing but you'd still like to help, we have three other Farmers Markets where pickups can be done using your own regular sized car. We are looking for volunteers to help pick up at the Farmers Markets at Rosslyn (Wednesday evenings), Lubber Run (Saturday mornings), and Marymount (Saturday mornings). We are looking for volunteers to committing to this task twice per month between May and November. For details and interest, please email [email protected].

Plot Against Hunger

Let the Garden Partying Begin!

Blooming spring flowers mean AFAC gardeners are ready for spring planting. Gardener? Here is a picture of Catherine and Scott harvesting romaine lettuce at the Walter Reed Garden.

If you are interested in joining a garden team and you haven't filled out an AFAC volunteer form, you can do it here. Gardens currently looking for help are:

Clarendon United Methodist Church, 606 N. Irving Street. Contact Catie at [email protected].

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 4000 Lorcom Lane. Saturday mornings, 9 am. (Sundays in case of rain). Contact Dave at [email protected].

Walter Reed Annex Garden, 2060 S. Walter Reed Drive. Sunday mornings (April) 10 am-noon, Tuesday evenings 5-7 pm. Contact [email protected].

For details on helping AFAC's Plot Against Hunger program, contact [email protected] or visit the Plot Against Hunger website.

Garden Talks

Wednesdays, 7 pm

Arlington Central Library

Our 2019 Garden Talks at Central Library has begun! For a full list of topics for the season, click here.

Upcoming topics:

April 10: Balcony and Container Gardening Basics

April 17: Vegetable Gardening in the Shade

April 24: Vertical Garden Structures & Protection Techniques

May 1: Composting & Vermiculture

Growing the Next Generation of Urban Farmers

Thursday, April 11

6:30 - 8:30 pm

Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture invites you to their event at Ashlawn Elementary, which will feature an in-depth discussion on how communities can increase local food production and consumption. We will also have hands-on activities for children and young families. AFAC will have a table at the event and our Cooking & Nutrition Manager helped plan the event. The event is FREE and open to the public! RSVP by clicking here.

Thank You

Thank you to Marymount University Nursing Students for working with us these past few months. With their help, we have conducted several classes, demonstrations, and blood pressure screenings throughout the community. Pictured here are students discussing Diabetes with residents at Hunters Park.

Huge thanks to Harmony UMC for their donation of 3,000 pounds of potatoes! Thank you to Giant Food at Virginia Square and the many shoppers who contributed to a Drive Away Hunger food drive in March that collected 1,585 pounds of food for AFAC!

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

Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture; Arlington Church of the Brethren; Arlington Community Church Preschool; Arlington Jazzercise Center; Ballston Park Apartments; Bethel UCC; Broadstone Apartments; Calvary UMC; CBCA; Central Library & Garden; Cherrydale Branch Library; Cherrydale UMC; Clarendon Child Care Center; Clarivate Analytics; Columbia Pike Branch Library; Crystal City Marriott; CWT Sato Travel; First Presbyterian Church & Garden; Foggy Mountain Pasta; Forrester Construction; Girl Scout Troop #4087, 3230, 6171, 4594, 6087; Innovative Discovery; Intelsat; Kinder Haus Toys; Laureate Beta Upsilon; Loudon Hunger Relief; Management Systems International; Memorial Baptist Church; Northern Virginia Community College's Medical Campus; NOVA Catholic Community; Our Savior Lutheran Church; Pediatrics of Arlington; Restoration Anglican Church; Resurrection Lutheran Church & Garden; Rock Spring UCC & Garden; Roy Croom; Sands Capital Management; Shirlington Branch Library; St. Ann's Catholic Church; St. Ann's Catholic School; St. Andrew's Episcopal Church & Garden; St. John's Episcopal Church; St. Peter's Episcopal Church; Swanson Middle School; Territory Foods; Trinity Episcopal Church; Walter Reed Annex Garden; Westover Branch Library

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-Lee HS.