loving our neighbors

How will you get involved in 2015? The Intagliatas have loved serving with AFAC in 2014….

Prior to our first time volunteering for a summer farmer’s market pick-up/produce bagging session at the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), we knew of AFAC as that building we drove by when taking our dog to the Shirlington Dog Park. Little did we know that we would come to know, serve, and be blessed by AFAC clients and workers while also becoming more connected with members of our Restoration family.

AFAC distributes supplemental groceries to Arlington residents that are experiencing food insecurity due to limited income to pay bills and feed their family. The first time we volunteered we worked behind the scenes to get food ready for distribution. We were amazed at the amount of fresh produce generously donated by vendors at the farmers market that needed to be put in bags. Eventually, we decided to help with Tuesday evening distribution. It has now become a time we look forward to each month.  Our volunteer duties have consisted of cutting mesh bags to bag produce, organizing donated food, restocking shelves, checking in clients, and helping clients find the type of food they are looking for, all while kindly keeping the distribution line moving.

We have found AFAC to be a wonderful place to respond to God’s call in our lives to serve our neighbors. In our busy lives, it can be quite easy to bypass our neighbors and those in need. AFAC provides a place for us to become connected to a diverse community of people in Arlington and experience God’s grace through relationship and provision of basic needs. While we strive to live a more coherent Christian life, AFAC is one place where we have experienced God at work and found an opportunity to practice giving of our time to connect with and serve our neighbors.

~Andrew and Diana Intagliata