Across the country, nearly one in four households experienced food insecurity at some point this year. Arlington County is not exempt from this challenge.  An alarming number of APAH households have been so affected by job or income loss due to COVID-19 that they do not have the money to buy adequate food for their families.

Our wonderful partners and volunteers have been instrumental in our efforts to ensure seniors, children, and families did not go hungry. Together, we supported over 200 food distributions and 3,100 door-to-door deliveries to safely bring groceries and meals to our most in-need households.

Every week The Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) and APAH volunteers provided groceries for about200 households. All summer our friends at the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) provided farmers’ market produce to our residents each week. Many other groups, businesses and organizations provided aid through meals, donations, and volunteer time so vital in caring for our community.

Residents have been appreciative to have a consistent source of supplemental groceries every week so that they can continue feeding their families. For the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, APAH residents were surprised and delighted to receive additional food resources with grocery gift cards from St. Mary’s Church and AFAC’s Thanksgiving Turkey Week and Christmas Chicken Week. These were wonderful ways to bring holiday cheer and a boost to our residents.

While we know many of the challenges our residents faced in 2020 are not behind us, we extend our deepest gratitude to all who rose to do more and help so many to have food on their tables.