Saturday, Nov. 8 Arlington Scouts will participate in the national Scouting for Food drive by collecting food door to door and donating it to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). This is AFAC’s largest single-day food drive all year, and their partnership with Scouting for Food has resulted in donation of 1 million pounds of food since 1995.

Nov. 1, the Saturday before the drive, Scouts place door hangars in neighborhoods where they plan to collect food the next Saturday, Nov. 8. They ask that the donations be placed outside the door by the mailbox by 8 a.m.

The donations should be placed in a sack or container and should not include glass jars, out-of-date food or perishable items. The most requested items include: canned protein (tuna, chicken, salmon), low-sugar cereal, canned beans and tomato products, cooking oil in plastic containers, peanut butter in plastic containers. 

In the event you miss the scouts or do not receive a notice to participate, you can bring your non-perishable food donations to the following locations: 

• AFAC Warehouse (2708. S. Nelson St)

• Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford St)

• Arlington Mill Community Center (909 S. Dinwiddie St)

• Arlington Public Library Branches: Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St), Cherrydale (2190 Military Rd), Shirlington (4200 Campbell Ave), or Westover (1644 N. McKinley Rd)

Donations can be dropped off during the regular operation hours at each of these locations. 

If you are unable to donate non-perishable food items, AFAC is also accepting monetary donations at www.afac.org