You know that feeling of meeting a critical need when the caffeine hits after that first sip of coffee? Now you can double it by supporting a local nonprofit when you buy a cup of joe.
Northside Social has teamed with Counter Culture Coffee and the Arlington Free Clinic (AFC), which provides medical care to uninsured Arlingtonians, to create a special coffee blend for a cause. The popular coffee and wine bar will donate 10% of sales of this specialty item to the healthcare nonprofit through June 2026.
The namesake AFC Blend is a certified organic medium roast with a nutty, sweet and creamy flavor profile. Although it’s been available for a couple months—as a retail item to prepare at home, or as a prepared hot drip, iced or espresso drink at Northside Social’s locations in Arlington and Falls Church—the blend makes its official debut with a launch party on Nov. 7., featuring tastings of the new brew from 2-7 p.m. Cocktails made with the coffee will be available, too.
To mark the event, Bridie McCulla, executive pastry chef for Northside Social’s parent company, Liberty Restaurant Group (whose eateries also include The Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall and The Falls), has developed a Caramel Coffee Biscotti made with AFC Blend. Try one for free when you order a coffee beverage, while supplies last.
“We are hopeful guests enjoy this special pastry we’ve prepared in honor of the free clinic,” she says.
Coffee for a Cause
Stephen Fedorchak, who co-founded Liberty Restaurant Group with his brother, Mark, says supporting AFC is a no-brainer.
“Arlington Free Clinic has been just such a staunch ray of light for people in our community in need for so long,” says Fedorchak, a longtime member of AFC’s Community Council.
The restaurateurs wanted to spotlight the clinic’s work and inspire people to donate money to its cause. “It’s great to be able to work with our most important vendor [Counter Culture], by virtue of being our coffee roaster, and work with one of our community’s most important nonprofits,” Fedorchak says. “It’s kind of that simple.”
AFC CEO Lesley Daigle says 90% of the free clinic’s funding comes from foundations and private donors (it receives no federal funding). The clinic provides critical services in the community, including vaccinations, dentistry and women’s health care, as well as chronic disease management for conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
“The services we provide are not just a nice-to-have,” Daigle says. “They are a critical part of the health care infrastructure of Arlington County, and when people don’t have access to services like ours, the whole community feels it.”
A Tough Time for Nonprofits
This fundraiser comes at an especially critical time. Currently, about 10,000 Arlington residents are uninsured—a number that could double as a result of federal cuts to Medicaid funding, according to AFC’s 2025 Report to the Community.
All of the nonprofit organizations that make up Arlington’s social safety net are hurting.
“This is a unique time for any nonprofit in Arlington. We are all facing at the same time a potentially significant increase in people who need our services at the same time that resources around us to provide those services are shrinking in different ways,” Daigle says. “We…think that [the partnership with Northside Social and Counter Culture] will do a lot to help spread the word about Arlington Free Clinic and what we do and how we provide care.”