Under normal times, the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) teams up with the National Association of Letter Carriers for a large food drive event called Stamp Out Hunger, which is held on the 2nd Saturday of every May.
Residents would leave food donations by their mailboxes and postal workers would pick up the food and deliver it to AFAC. On average, around 25,000 pounds of food donations is collected in this one-day event.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Stamp Out Hunger event was canceled. However, the need for food in the community is at an all-time high. AFAC has seen a 30% increase in active referrals since the end of February. More and more new families are seeking help in addition to the thousands of families AFAC already serves.
Through the month of May, you can help AFAC feed our neighbors in need in several ways. You can donate canned food (tomato products, vegetables, tuna and soups) and peanut butter at a local AFAC collection box set up in the community. Please do not donate food that is perishable, opened, expired or in glass jars.
You can also host a food drive in your own neighborhood. Register your food drive to request an AFAC food drive box if you would like one. There are template food drive flyers available that you can use and distribute digitally to help you get started.
Lastly, you can also donate funds so AFAC can purchase food (fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, eggs, frozen chicken, beans, rice, pasta and oatmeal) in bulk directly from vendors at wholesale prices.
For more information, visit www.afac.org/stamp-out-hunger-2020.
Note: This sponsored post was donated by ARLnow.