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Arlington Scout troops collected a record 65,000 pounds of food—about 32 tons—for the Arlington Food Assistance Center during the national Scouting for Food effort on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The haul was the largest in more than 20 years of partnership between local Scouts and AFAC. It arrived as the nonprofit faces growing demand while SNAP benefits remain unpaid.
AFAC Executive Director Charles Meng said the organization is serving more than 4,200 families each week with supplemental groceries and expects that number to keep rising in the coming weeks.
For three hours, a steady stream of cars and trucks delivered donations. AFAC Development Director Jolie Smith called the response historic and said the community had stepped up in a major way at a particularly important time.
Troop 641 began collecting early Saturday morning. One Scout jokingly set a goal of 1 million pounds, though the troop had gathered about 50 pounds at that point. An accompanying father said contributions appeared stronger than the previous year, with some residents leaving two or three large bags at their doors. The troop had about 100 homes on its donation list.
Meng thanked everyone who left food for the Scouts, saying every donated can and box would soon be placed in grocery bags for local families.