[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 76 (Thursday, June 9, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1197-E1198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL HUNGER AWARENESS DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 2005

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 
National Hunger Awareness Day and to honor the Arlington Food 
Assistance Center, which is located in my congressional district.
  National Hunger Awareness Day was established to help inform 
individuals, communities, corporations and policy makers that hunger is 
a severe domestic issue and deserves our critical attention.
  The Arlington Food Assistance Center's sole mission is to feed the 
hungry. This important action allows their clients to make other 
necessary purchases, such as paying for rent and utilities, without 
having to sacrifice their health and nutritional needs.
  Despite the fact that Arlington County is one of the wealthiest areas 
in the country, plenty of local residents do not have enough to eat. 
The Arlington Food Assistance Center, AFAC, seeks to remedy this 
problem by distributing bread, vegetables, meat, milk, eggs and other 
food items to those in Arlington who are in need. The Arlington Food 
Assistance Center currently distributes approximately 1100 bags of 
groceries each week to over 900 clients, nearly half of whom are 
children. Each week,

[[Page E1198]]

families with one to three members receive one bag of food and families 
of four members or more receive two bags of food--amounts that are 
expected to supplement a week's meals.
  AFAC obtains surplus food at a minimal cost from the Capital Area 
Community Food Bank and at no cost from local bakeries, supermarkets, 
farmer's markets, food drives and private donors.
  I would like to commend the staff and volunteers of the Arlington 
Food Assistance Center who work hard to provide needy families in 
Arlington with groceries each week.

                          ____________________