AFAC

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A fisherman removed the hook from his catch at Gravelly Point

Opower Sets IPO Price — Courthouse-based Opower is expected to start selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange today. The company set the price for its initial public offering at $19 per share. [Washington Business Journal]

A Brief History of Fairlington — Arlington’s Fairlington neighborhood was built by the U.S. government in the 1940s in response to a housing shortage caused by World War II. It’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places. [Washington Post]

AFAC Fundraiser Tonight — The Arlington Food Assistance Center’s Young Professionals group will hold its annual Hunger Is No Joke fundraiser tonight at Cafe Asia in Rosslyn. The 90s cover band White Ford Bronco will perform. [Clarendon Nights]

Cuban Band to Perform at Artisphere Tonight — Also tonight, at Artisphere in Rosslyn, the Grammy-nominated Cuban music group Tiempo Libre will perform. Tickets to the 8:00 p.m. performance are $25 at the door. [Ode Street Tribune]

Temporary Bus Stop Relocations — A number of bus stops on N. Moore Street in front of the Rosslyn Metro station will be relocated from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. The relocations are necessary to allow the demolition of the Moore Street skybridge. Also, starting today, the ART 53 bus stop at Old Glebe and N. Stafford Street is closed for construction for about a week. [Arlington Transit]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sign of spring (Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk)

Tech Hub Coming to Crystal City — Crystal City office building owner Vornado is investing $10 million in a venture capital fund called the Crystal Tech Fund. Venture capitalist Paul Singh is hoping to raise a total of $50 million for the fund, and is moving his company, Disruption Corp., to Crystal City. Vornado is also bringing a WeWork co-working space to Crystal City by 2016, and converting an existing building into a 300 unit apartment building for “today’s mobile and collaborative workers.” [InTheCapital, Washington Business Journal]

AFAC Sees Record Food Need — The Arlington Food Assistance Center continues to see record need for food in the community. The food bank served just over 1,800 families per week in February, a 30 percent increase compared to last year. [Sun Gazette]

Sony Store to Close — The Sony store in Pentagon City Mall is set to close, according to the company. The Sony store in Tysons Corner is also on the chopping block. [Sony]

Remembrance for Jean Crawford — Jean Crawford, a local Arlington County official and activist, died earlier this month after experiencing complications from gastric bypass surgery. A remembrance ceremony for Crawford will be held Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (4444 Arlington Blvd). [Washington Post, Sun Gazette]

Video: Joan Mulholland — Joan Mulholland, a civil rights activist and former Freedom Rider who lives in Arlington, recently donated documents from her private collection to the Center for Local History at Arlington Public Library. The county’s Arlington TV channel created a video about Mulholland and the donation. [YouTube]

Flickr pool photo by ksrjghkegkdhgkk

Soldiers Deliver 700 Pounds of Food to AFAC, On Foot

By ARLnow.com
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About 50 members of the Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment delivered nearly 700 pounds of donated food to the Arlington Food Assistance Center this morning.

In case the donation wasn’t impressive enough, the soldiers delivered the food on foot, marching 4 miles from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall to AFAC’s building in Shirlington with rucksacks on their backs.

The 3rd Infantry Regiment is also known as the Old Guard. The donation was made by the Old Guard’s 4th Battalion, which consists of ceremonial companies, a military police company, and the guards of the Tomb of the Unknowns, among others.

The food will be distributed ” to the 1,800 families that seek food from us each week,” according to AFAC communications manager Clare McIntyre.

Photos courtesy Clare McIntyre/AFAC

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Mallards in Sparrow Pond near Four Mile Run (Flickr pool photo by Mrs. Gemstone)

County Board Approves Glencarlyn Park Playground — The Arlington County Board on Tuesday approved a $485,000 construction contract for a new playground at Glencarlyn Park. The playground is intended for 5-12 year olds and includes a swing set and a “treehouse” log play structure. [Arlington County]

Demand Rises at AFAC — The Arlington Food Assistance Center “has seen a 20 percent surge in families visiting the food pantry in need of groceries over the past six months.” The director of AFAC says cuts in food stamp (SNAP) benefits has increased need in the community. Those cuts are expected to deepen if Congress passes a new compromise farm bill that includes $800 million in annual food stamp reductions. [Patch]

Grant Accepted for Innovation Initiative — Arlington County has accepted a $350,000 from the state to help fund “an innovative public-private initiative that will connect fast growth technology product companies with national security agencies headquartered in Arlington and the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Arlington will contribute a $175,000 matching grant to the project. [Arlington County]

Dem Caucus Is ‘Basically About the Streetcar’ — On its Twitter account, the blog Greater Greater Washington opines that this week’s Democratic Arlington County Board caucus is “basically about the streetcar.” Alan Howze and Peter Fallon, who GGW recommends voting for, generally support the Columbia Pike streetcar project while Cord Thomas has spoken out against it. [Twitter, Greater Greater Washington]

New African American Book Club — Arlington Public Library has launched a new African American Book Club. The club will “discuss the novels of both new and well-known authors, thought provoking non-fiction about the African American experience.” [Arlington Public Library]

Pageview Problem on ARLnow.com — We are currently trying to resolve a problem that is causing the pageview counter on each article to significantly undercount the actual number of views. The problem is impacting articles published within the past 24-48 hours.

Flickr pool photo by Mrs. Gemstone

Library to Donate Fines to AFAC Next Week

By Ethan Rothstein

AFAC celebrates 25th anniversaryNext week, from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9, Arlington Public Library will donate 10 cents of every dollar paid in fines to the Arlington Food Assistance Center.

This is the first year of the donation program, according to library spokesman Peter Golkin. The money will be coming from the Friends of the Public Library group, not from the fines themselves, which go back into the county budget.

The library brings in thousands of dollars in fines each week, Golkin said, but if residents don’t have a library book or movie overdue, they can still bring food donations to the library for AFAC. These are the items AFAC says it needs most at the moment:

  • Cooking oil in plastic bottles
  • Small bags of flour
  • Canned tuna in water
  • Low sugar cereals
  • Low sodium soups
  • Whole wheat pasta

Golkin noted the donation week will start a bit late Saturday. Arlington Central Library will be closed until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday due to a planned power outage as a result of construction on a nearby building. The library will stay open two hours later than normal — until 7:00 p.m. — Saturday evening to compensate. Other libraries will open at normal times, and donations will be collected at all locations.

AFAC Celebrates 25th Anniversary, Growing Donations

By Ethan Rothstein
AFAC celebrates 25th anniversary
AFAC celebrates 25th anniversary
AFAC celebrates 25th anniversary
AFAC celebrates 25th anniversary
AFAC celebrates 25th anniversary
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The Arlington Food Assistance Center celebrated its 25th anniversary Monday afternoon, holding a ceremony on the last day of Hunger Action Month.

AFAC Executive Director Charles Meng announced at the ceremony that AFAC raised 106,000 pounds of food over the past month, exceeding its goal of 100,000. At the Fill the Bus event this past weekend, in which donors helped fill an ART bus full of food, AFAC received more than 4,700 pounds. Meng thanked his predecessors and the organization’s founders, but reminded the dozens in the audience what work he feels there still is to do.

“There are almost 31,000 individuals in Arlington County who do not have enough to eat on a regular basis,” Meng said. “We service only a small part of that.”

Arlington County Board Chairman Walter Tejada, who volunteers at the center along with his wife, Robin, said AFAC is part of the “strong safety net” the less fortunate in Arlington need.

“AFAC has always been one of my favorite organizations,” Tejada said. “There are so many people here who really care.”

The event, at AFAC’s Shirlington-area distribution center, was scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m., but didn’t begin until 3:30 as AFAC representatives waited for the invited elected officials to show. Sheriff Beth Arthur and School Board Chair Abby Raphael arrived on time and Tejada walked in during Meng’s speech.

County Board Vice Chair Jay Fisette, state Sens. Barbara Favola (D-31) and Adam Ebbin (D-30), and Del. Patrick Hope (D-47), all of whom we were billed as expected guests, were no-shows for the speeches. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) sent a staff member while he was on Capitol Hill negotiating on the eve of the government shutdown.

AFAC Needs Cereal, Other Staple Foods

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington Food Assistance Center in ShirlingtonThe Arlington Food Assistance Center is low on cereal, pasta, peanut butter and other food items.

AFAC volunteer coordinator Laura Jackson said the end of the summer is typically when its dry food stores are lowest because the center doesn’t conduct as many food drives while people are on vacation.

“It happens most summers,” she said. “We get a lot of produce donations from farmer’s markets during the summer, but a tomato is not the same thing as cereal.”

Other items AFAC is looking for donations are low-sodium soup, canned tuna in water, small bags of flour and cooking oils in plastic bottles.

The center is participating in the nationwide Hunger Action Month, with several events planned around Arlington to collect food and donations. The biggest event, Jackson said, is the Fill the Bus campaign the weekend of Sept. 27-29 at the Giant supermarket at 3115 Lee Highway. AFAC hopes to collect 20,000 pounds of food to fill an ART bus.

There are numerous food drives and even a screening of a movie among the other events planned for Hunger Action Month. More information on donating money or food to AFAC can be found on the organization’s web site.

ACFD Holding Food Drive for AFAC

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Fire Department will be holding a holiday food drive for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) starting on Saturday.

The food drive will run from Saturday, Dec. 1 to Friday, Dec. 21. Firefighters will collect non-perishable food donations at fire stations in Arlington and Falls Church, and at the county government building at 2100 Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse. The donations will then be sent to AFAC, which is based in the Shirlington area.

AFAC is most in need of items like cereal, flour, cooking oil, pasta or canned tuna, according to a press release. The organization serves more than 4,000 adults and children on an average week.

“It’s a myth that no one in Arlington goes hungry,” Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz said in a statement. “Every week, thousands of families and children need our help, just to survive. The men and women of ACFD want to do what they can to help our community, especially during this special time of year.”

The fire department will not be participating in the annual “Toys for Tots” drive this year.

In addition to the ACFD food drive, Arlington County will be running its annual Secret Santa program, which collects gift cards to be donated to needy families, seniors and Foster children.

Boy Scouts Will be “Scouting for Food” on Saturday

By Katie Pyzyk

Boy Scouts will be hitting the streets on Saturday (November 10) for their annual “Scouting for Food” drive.

The scouts will stop at homes in a number of neighborhoods to collect food donations to benefit Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). They will directly visit residents who received bags and fliers last week explaining the drive. Out of courtesy for residents, scouts don’t knock on doors; instead residents are asked to leave food donations in plain sight near their front doors, by 9:00 a.m. All donations are expected to be collected by noon.

Residents who didn’t receive a bag on their door will not be visited by the scouts. These residents can still participate, however, by taking food donations to the Cherrydale or Harrison Street Safeway stores.

Suggested foods for donation include pasta, peanut butter, breakfast food, tuna, soup, fruit and beans. AFAC and the scouts both ask that items in glass jars are not donated.

The goal is to exceed last year’s total of 60,000 pounds of donated food.

Right now, AFAC serves about 1,400 people each week, but that may increase as temperatures grow colder.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Glee Star to Visit W-L Today — Glee star Lauren Potter and Best Buddies founder Anthony Shriver will be visiting Washington-Lee High School’s Best Buddies chapter at 3:00 p.m. today (Friday). “The Washington-Lee chapter of Best Buddies was ranked number one among DC-MD-VA chapters based on the quality of friendships, student leadership and dedication to the Best Buddies mission,” according to Arlington Public Schools. Potter, who has Down syndrome, is best known for her role as Becky Jackson on the hit Fox TV series.

Chef Beats Out ‘Chief’ in Culinary Competition — Eventide Chef Adam Barnett emerged as the big winner in the Arlington Food Assistance Center’s “Chiefs vs. Chefs” cooking competition between professional restaurant chefs and amateur firehouse cooks. AFAC hopes to turn the fundraiser into an annual event. [Sun Gazette]

Violent Crime Down in ACPD’s First District — Violent crime is down 15 percent in Arlington’s first police district, which encompasses much of North Arlington, minus Lyon Village, Clarendon, Courthouse and Rosslyn, according to police. The number of rapes are up, however; all of the instances involved a known suspect, not a random attacker. [Patch]

Pike Neighborhoods Plan Wins Award — The Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Area Plan, which aims to transform Columbia Pike into a more urban and walkable community while maintaining affordable housing, has won an award from the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). The plan won the “2012 Benjamin Banneker Award for Outstanding Social Commitment and Community” for demonstrating “sustained commitment to reach beyond the traditional scope of planning, particularly advancing social objectives.” [Arlington County]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

LED Street Lights Draw Complaints — New energy-efficient LED street lighting has been drawing complaints from Arlington residents. Residents have complained that the new lights are too bright and too white. That has prompted county officials to install dimmers on the lights, which has driven up the cost of the new lighting. The county is also exploring the use of lighting that is less harsh but also less energy efficient. [Sun Gazette]

‘Chiefs vs. Chefs’ Cooking Challenge Tonight — Some of Arlington most notable chefs will be battling some of Arlington’s top firehouse cooks in a cooking challenge for charity tonight. The chefs — David Guas of Bayou Bakery, Todd Pozinsky of Carlyle in Shirlington and Adam Barnett of Eventide — will go up against the tastiest creations from Arlington’s bravest. ‘Chiefs vs. Chefs’ is taking place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. tonight at the Key Bridge Marriott (1401 Lee Highway). Tickets to the event, which benefits the Arlington Food Assistance Center, start at $100. [AFAC]

Transportation Advice for APS — Writing in response to the recent controversy over changes to busing at Arlington Public Schools, Greater Greater Washington writer and Arlington resident Steve Offutt says APS should look to Arlington County government for guidance on how to create a “real, 21st-century transportation plan” that isn’t so focused on buses. [Greater Greater Washington]

New Jeweler Coming to Clarendon — Alexandria-based B&C Jewelers will be opening a second location in Clarendon. The store will be opening at 2729 Wilson Boulevard, in the storefront once occupied by the Sisters3 boutique. [Patch]

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