Donate to Scouting for Food

Every November, Arlington’s Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops fan out across the county’s neighborhoods in a two-Saturday operation that has become one of the community’s most meaningful annual traditions. On the first Saturday, scouts distribute door hangers alerting residents to the drive. The following Saturday, they return to collect the bags of non-perishable food left on doorsteps — a beautifully low-friction way to give that asks almost nothing of donors beyond a bag by the front door before 8 a.m. Since the program launched in 1995, Arlington’s Scouting for Food has collected over one million pounds of food for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC).

AFAC currently serves over 3,300 Arlington families each week, and the annual scout drive represents its single largest collection day of the year. If your neighborhood isn’t on a scout route, drop-off locations are available at Arlington Public Library branches throughout the county during regular hours. Preferred donations include low-sodium canned goods, low-sugar cereals, cooking oil, and peanut butter. It’s one of the simplest and most impactful things an Arlington resident can do — a bag on the porch, and thousands of families benefit.