Enhancing Student Well Being
Meeting Basic & Essential Needs…Is Essential
Students learn best when their basic human needs are met. Research shows that when children face food insecurity or housing instability, it directly affects their ability to attend, engage, and succeed in school. In the U.S., more than 1 in 6 households with children (17.3 %) experienced food insecurity in 2022, meaning families did not always have reliable access to enough food—an instability linked to lower attendance and academic achievement.¹
Longitudinal studies further show that children from food-insecure households have lower math and reading scores, perform worse on standardized tests, and are more likely to repeat a grade compared to their food-secure peers.² Food insecurity is also associated with higher absenteeism and poorer psychosocial well-being, both of which directly impact classroom engagement and long-term academic success.³
At the start of the 2025–2026 school year, 39.5% of ACPS students’ (5,525 students) families identify as economically disadvantaged. By addressing the barriers that prevent students from having consistent access to food, stability, and support, AFE helps create the conditions where children can focus, learn, and thrive
How AFE is addressing this issue:
Families Helping Families Fund
blurb coming soon. emphasis on how anyone can help not just families
What These Funds Support
Ensuring Access to Basic Needs
The Fund supports basic needs through
Back to School Bash-2025 (school supplies and opportunities to connect with community orgs)
School & Classroom Grants – Journey Middle School Counselor (Feel Better, Do Better) & CIS Coordinator (Donors Choose Project)
McKinney-Vento Team – Stay Kits for Families in Crisis (CavFutures Grant)
Free supply closets for students (ex. snacks, hygiene products, home cleaning supplies, etc.)
Increasing Food Security
Families helping Families Fund sponsors our Mobile Market events as well as other Drives (ex. food, coats, school supply, cleaning supply). A mobile market is a grocery store on wheels that brings fresh, affordable food directly to neighborhoods with limited access to full-service supermarkets. By setting up at schools, community centers, and senior housing sites, mobile markets make healthy food more convenient and accessible. According to the USDA, more than 1 in 10 U.S. households face food insecurity in a typical year. We are committed to coming together to distribute food deliveries, pack, and distribute produce and self-stable items from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Expanding Dental Care Access
Why the Focus on Dental Health?
38% of ACPS students (5,400 children) do not have a dentist, limiting access to preventive and urgent care.
39.5% of students are economically disadvantaged, and 1,383 lack health insurance, increasing risk for untreated dental issues.
Only 27% of Virginia dentists accept Medicaid/FAMIS, restricting access for families with low-incomes.
Just 59% of Medicaid/FAMIS-enrolled youth received a preventive dental visit, earning Virginia a C+ in oral health.
Untreated dental needs create health gaps that quickly become educational inequities.
