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Crystal Farms to Launch Food Drive

Crystal Farms To Launch Food Drive
Donations Benefit Arlington Food Assistance Center

Crystal City (Arlington, VA) – Crystal Farms, Crystal City’s farmers’ market, will launch its first food drive in the month of October. Every Tuesday is market day and beginning Tuesday, October 6, fresh produce and baked goods will be donated to the food drive which benefits the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC).

“We are very excited about incorporating a food drive for AFAC into the Crystal Farms program,” said Angela Fox, President and CEO of Crystal City BID. “We have had tremendous success with the farmers’ market, and with the food drive we can help make fresh nutritious foods available to our neighbors in need.”

Among the Crystal Farms vendors who will make weekly donations to the food drive are: Atwater’s Bakery, Baguette Republic, Barajas Produce, Bigg Riggs Farms, G Flores Produce, Grace’s Pastries, Great Harvest Bread Company, Toigo Orchards, Tyson’s Farms and Westmoreland Produce.

"We are so pleased to have this new partnership with the Crystal City Farmers’ Market and the vendors there,” said Christine Lucas, Executive Director of AFAC. “The donations from the farmers will be brought to AFAC and distributed to the many families we serve. Many of those families have told us that they would like more fruits and vegetables in their diets. We are committed to distributing as much nutritious food as possible, and these new donations will be a big help in doing that."

In addition to shopping for groceries, local residents and workers can also bring their own donations to the market during the food drive month. According to AFAC’s Web site, its current needs are canned foods (meat and fish, soup and stew, beans, pasta), cereal, dry packaged pasta and peanut butter.

Crystal Farms runs every Tuesday from 3-7 p.m. through October 27 on the sidewalk between the 18th and 20th streets along Crystal Drive. For more information on Crystal Farms, visit www.crystalcity.org.

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About the Crystal City BID
Established in April of 2006, the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) is creating a soul for Crystal City. A public-private partnership, the BID is providing a higher level of service to visitors, workers and residents in Crystal City - driving to become a world-class destination in both Arlington and the greater DC region. For more information, visit www.crystalcity.org.

About AFAC
AFAC is Arlington's food pantry and distributes supplemental groceries to families and individuals in need in Arlington. Currently, food is distributed to more than 1,100 families each week, an increase of 50 percent in the past year. For more information about AFAC and how you can help, visit www.afac.org.