To help kids in Fairfax County fight hunger after school, a colorfully painted school bus is visiting their neighborhoods in the evenings.
The nonprofit Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) hosted an event yesterday evening in Hybla Valley to debut a brand-new, converted school bus that delivers free after-school meals to local kids.
The event included face painting and games, and appearances by D.C. Divas football players Navia Howell and Terrina Riley, and D.C. United player Gabriel “Gabe” Segal.
CAFB started its Mobile Food Program in 2015, serving meals out of the back door of a school bus to kids across Fairfax County during the summer and after school.
This year, with support from the grocer Harris Teeter, the program procured and renovated a new school bus equipped with seats and tables, a warming oven, refrigerators and running water, which will allow the program to provide hot evening meals to children.
The colorful bus, decorated with cartoon veggies, will deliver food to the Audubon neighborhood in Hybla Valley and the Lorton Community Action Center. The program is part of the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program and serves several dozen children every day.
“It’s appealing because it’s so unique,” said Caroline Kirk, who works with the CAFB after-school program. So far, kids have been excited and parents have been impressed, she noted.
The Mobile Meals bus schedule and menus can be found on Capital Area Food Bank’s website. Meals for the first week of school, starting on Monday, Aug. 24 for Fairfax County Public Schools students, include fajitas, chicken curry, hamburgers and more.
According to CAFB, the ability to serve hot meals has expanded the food offerings significantly, even allowing staff to do fun meals like breakfast for dinner.
“The fact that we can serve hot meals is a really big deal,” Kirk said.
Food insecurity has become a top issue among southeast Fairfax County residents, said Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who attended the bus debut. Federal cuts to social safety net programs mean that Fairfax County, regional and statewide programs will have to be a backstop for many families.
CAFB’s annual hunger report will be released Sept. 15, and Lusk is expecting the number of food-insecure households will have increased, partly due to a decrease in federal spending, layoffs and inflation.
In past years, the organization’s report has shown that households with children are more likely to experience food insecurity. In addition, the 2025 report stated that, “in 2025, a growing number of respondents report that their financial situations have worsened compared to the previous two years.”
The organization’s old bus will serve as a backup, but the new bus has the ability to serve hot meals, and allows kids to eat on the bus in a miniature diner setting. The old bus could only serve cold meals and had children eat at plastic tables outside.
Coastal Conversions, a Maryland company that primarily outfits “van life” vehicles, did the school bus conversion.
With distribution centers in the District and Newington, Capital Area Food Bank serves more than a million people in D.C., Virginia and Maryland by helping provide food to hundreds of nonprofit organizations and residents.
