Lus Sawicki and Robin Ngo stand outside a school bus at an Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) “stuff the bus” event Saturday, Sept. 30.By Shirley Ruhe
It is the end of Hunger Month but not the end of hunger or of Arlington Food Assistance (AFAC) events highlighting the need for food assistance. Robin Ngo and Lus Sawicki, both first time AFAC volunteers, stand beside AFAC boxes located outside the David M. Brown Planetarium on Saturday morning, Sept. 30 for a “stuff the school bus” event.
It is two hours into the event and the school bus remains empty. Ngo says no one has shown up yet. She says, “I think these events do better when they are located right outside the Giant like the ones earlier this month so people can just easily drop off a few things.”
But AFAC has been active and successful all month bringing attention to the need to mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger including its library exhibits in five Arlington branches. In addition, there has been the volunteer opportunity to glean produce at JK Community Farm in Purcellville. Fashion Center at Pentagon City held a CANstruction canned-creation build by local DMV architectural firms with the cans of food donated to AFAC.
In addition, pets get hungry, and AFAC paired with the Animal Welfare League at Lubber Run Farmer’s Market to expand the food drive to include food for pets owned by families in need. And the Annual Golf Tournament at Army Navy Country Club, the big fundraiser of the year, was held Sept. 16.
The Hunger Museum created by MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger offered a virtual tour to educate on the last 100 years of hunger policy in the United States.
The need is great. Charlie Meng, CEO of AFAC, points out even though Arlington has one of the highest median household incomes in the country, hunger affects vulnerable populations within the county borders. He says, “We are now serving 3,450 families each week and last year we saw a 30 percent increase.” Meng was also bracing for the might-have-been shutdown that could have come on Monday, but now has been averted until at least November.
The opportunity to contribute goes well beyond Hunger Month with AFAC food boxes located in most libraries, various businesses, county offices including the Parks Dept. and the County Building and soon in apartment building lobbies, and volunteer opportunities exist to organize your own food drive.
There are many ways to donate, including donating financially online at https://afac.org/