Charlie Meng
Class of 2011
Last year, the Arlington Food Assistance Center distributed more than 4 million pounds of food to local families in need. And we aren’t just talking about jars of peanut butter and cans of soup. Through partnerships with local grocery chains, farmers markets and growers, AFAC ensures that more than 2,300 families per week have access to fresh produce, chicken, fish, milk, eggs, so that they aren’t simply filling their bellies, but are satisfying their hunger with nutritious foods. A former executive administrator at Georgetown University, American University and The Kennedy Center, Meng, as AFAC’s executive director, oversees a $7.2 million budget, 93 percent of which comes from private donations. The food pantry has 19 distribution sites and receives no federal or state funding.
“Continued gentrification is driving the population we serve out of the county, and a lot of middle-income folks, as well. Housing prices keep rising. The result is a reduction in the diversity that everyone in the county believes is important.”—Charlie Meng
