Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC)

In fiscal year 2024, AFAC provided groceries to 7,996 families made up of 19,446 individuals, residing in Arlington County and nearby communities - 33.24% of these individuals were children (6,464) under the age of 18. An average of 2,705 families were served each week at S Nelson St or at one of 18 other distribution sites around the County for a total of 183,558 annual visits to receive weekly groceries. Visits to AFAC increased 30.4% over FY 2023 which was 29.5% over the prior fiscal year, FY 2022. These increases have forced AFAC to purchase greater amounts of food to distribute to its families. AFAC has also continued the home delivery program started during the Pandemic to bring groceries to elderly individuals who cannot leave their homes to get food. The mission of AFAC is to address long-term food insecurity rather than provide emergency needs as is standard at other food pantries. AFAC received slightly over 1.5 million pounds of donated food from grocery stores, individuals, and through food drives at congregations, schools, businesses, and community organizations. In addition, AFAC purchased another 2.5 million pounds of food for distribution to our families. In total, AFAC distributed almost 5 million pounds of food - of which 3.4 million were purchased at a cost of $2.5 million. As a result of the increase in the number of families served, AFAC spent $1 million more than had been budgeted.AFAC focuses its food purchases on the high cost items in a grocery basket that are important to a healthy, nutritious diet. It is often these items that are avoided by our families in favor of lower cost items that are cheaper but often contain high levels of fat and sugar and are highly processed. This results in obesity in children, Type 2 Diabetes in adults, and hypertension in the elderly. During a visit a family will select from a variety of healthy, nutritious foods including milk, eggs, beef, chicken and fish, fresh fruit & vegetables, pasta, sauces, cereals, breads, and a number of miscellaneous items. During their visit, a family will receive an average of 29 pounds of food.