Nutrition - Communities In Schools of NOVA

Partnership Highlight: Arlington Food Assistance Center

The Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) has been serving Arlington County residents in need of supplemental groceries for over 25 years. With the weekly assistance of a small army of volunteers, AFAC distributes nutritious food to over 2,200 county residents each week. About 35% of those who receive food from AFAC are children. Barcroft Elementary is the most recent school that AFAC has partnered with to provide students in need with supplemental meals. Through the Backpack Buddies Program, students may receive a bag of groceries to take home with them on Friday afternoons. Each bag contains two days worth of nutrition (six [...]

Nursing Students Provide Nutritional Facts for Arlington Mill & Career Center Students

For 6 weeks, nursing students from the Chamberlain College of Nursing provided and displayed nutritional tips and information during the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) weekly food distribution at the Arlington Career Center. Every Wednesday during the AFAC weekly food distribution, 4 nursing students set up a table with a display on a topic that covered health-related facts that our students read, while also giving out free samples using some of the related foods. It was a unique and efficient way to promote healthy eating, while also introducing students to nutritious (and delicious!) food they can easily make at home. “This opportunity gave us a different experience than with [...]