Angel Food Ministries 101

on February 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM

Everyone's feeling the economic crunch these days. Lots of CafeMoms are saving money on their grocery bill with Angel Food Ministries, which provides low-cost boxes of food to families nationwide.

There's lots of debate as to whether this program is a good deal. That's why I asked CafeMom snoopy21276, who's been getting boxes of food for more than a year, to tell us why it's worth it for her family of four...

Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization that provides low-cost boxes of meat, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and other food each month to any family, regardless of income. The regular box, which costs $30 [and supposedly retails at $60], can feed a family of four for one week or a senior citizen for a month. Additionally, specialty boxes are available including meat boxes or boxes with fresh fruits and vegetables. Families place an order each month and pick up the boxes at participating churches in their area. Visit the official Web site to see if there is a participating distribution center near you.

Snoopy21276 has been ordering boxes of food from Angel Food Ministries regularly for more than a year. She shares her experience below:

CM: How long have you been getting Angel Food Ministries?

We have been getting it pretty consistently for over a year. Our church is a location that offers it. I am a stay-at-home mom and my husband works full time, and we just barely missed the cut-off for food assistance so this is a great way to save on our grocery bill.

How big is your family? What box do you get each time and how long does it last?

We are a family of four—myself, my husband, and our two children Hunter (5) and Claire (3). We typically spend $75 for our order: We get the basic unit [$30]; meat unit [$22]; and definitely the fresh veggies and fruits [$21] each month. Depending on what the family enjoys, the food (when combined with other groceries) will last us two weeks.

What kinds of things are included each time?

Each month is different. There are lots of fresh items like a dozen eggs, shelf milk, a dessert item. The biggest savings is in the meat unit. It does take some time to figure out how to prepare the meat, but it's usually really good, especially for crock pot meals!

What was included in your last box and what are some examples of specific meals you made from the food?

In the basic box we got eggs, cookies, peanut butter, chicken strips with Mexican flavoring (very good), tortillas (those were not so good), mac and cheese, white rice, lots of frozen veggies, ribs, roast, popcorn chicken. We also got a chicken combo box that came with chicken wings, a whole chicken and chicken tenders. The fruits and veggie box had cabbage, celery, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and oranges—all fresh

How would you rate the food quality? Does your family like it, generally?

I enjoy the majority of it. The meat—for instance, the pork chops—tend to have a lot of fat on them. My husband loves the steaks, provided they are marinated and cooked on the Foreman Grill. I would highly recommend having a Fry Daddy if you do get Angel Food as most of the chicken is restaurant-style and the directions are for deep frying.

How would you rate the variety of the food? Is it different each time?

Yep there is a good variety. They try and cover all the food groups to provide more nutritious value.

How much money do you think you are saving each month by using Angel Food Ministries?

I would say we save $50-70 dollars a month because I plan my meals around what we order. The meat is where the most savings come into play. The food is not all brand names, but the kids don't realize that! Mac and cheese and hot dogs are still favorites no matter what brand!

Would you recommend it to other moms?

Yup, and I have many times! The hard part is initially getting used to it because you order, pay, and wait for the order to arrive anywhere from one to three weeks, so that can be a factor. But we just plan ahead.

Thank you to snoopy21276 for her helpful advice!

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: family meals, food, grocery shopping, products, suggestions, trends

Comments (13)

MomtoConner

on Feb 4, 2009 at 12:12 PM

I hate to say it but my husband and I got horribly sick with food poisoning from the beef they provide.

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bodhikt

on Feb 4, 2009 at 12:34 PM

The local menu, at least, is not a "good deal" for our family-- we'd end up giving at least half the stuff away (because we don't like/eat it), and combined with the cost of gas to get to the nearest distribution center, the cost of what we'd be using is cheaper (and fresher) at local markets.

bearandtreemom

on Feb 4, 2009 at 1:22 PM

We use menus4moms along with our angel food b/c they provide great menus and recipies to use along with the food for the month...not a plug, but It really helped me!

roseberry_66701

on Feb 4, 2009 at 2:29 PM

We are retired and living on Social Security - thanks to Angel Food, our freezer is full! Yes, some of the meat is tough and the pork chops have a lot of fat but, conveniently, we have a dog who loves table scraps (bones, fat, etc.)! If we occasionally get something we don't likke (like turnips), we give them to our neighbor - none of the food is ever wasted - my husband doesn't care much for vegetables, so I wait until I have two packages just alike (corn, carrots, etc.) and prepare them for our monthly potluck dinner at church - we give the rice and other things to our local food pantry - at Christmas we bought several of their special packages for gifts to our family and friends - I do wish they would include recipes for some of the things in the package, but so far we've managed to figure it out -

mylittleabby

on Feb 4, 2009 at 3:53 PM

We have also been getting Angel Food for close to a year. When we got the first box, we went through and added up what it would cost at the store to buy the same things and just with the meat from the regular box, it was over $30.00. So we both agreed that was a good deal. Now the other boxes of meat and veggies, for us, are not a good deal. We will get the huge box of chicken tenders and the stuffed chicken when they have it since compared to the price at the store, those are much cheaper. But the rest is not rally much cheaper than we can get at our grocery store and the fruits and veggies we usually grow ourself of get very cheap from our local nursery. Every now and then there is stuff that we do not eat and we just pass it along to another family in need. We still come out getting more food for less.

samiam66

on Feb 4, 2009 at 4:14 PM

I am a single Mom of a 10 yr old. My aunt , a senior also orders. We have been doing Angel food for about 8 months now, we skipped 2 months.........jyust because the menu wasn't the greatest. I really look over then menu and then decide. Heres my constructive critisim.

The " Senior" package is VERY bland.

The popcorn chicken is all dark meat. ( Ok if you like dark meat)

Most meats are marinated. ( Ok if you like their flavoring, but would rather flavor my own food ~ alos limits what you can do with the meat. ie, lemon marinated chicken breast, marinated steak, etc. )

The hot dogs are not all beef ( ok if your kids will eat them )

The milk is fine to add in a recipe, or to your coffee, but kind of has a oddl taste. Would not reccommend just drinking it.

on Feb 4, 2009 at 7:37 PM

P.S. Don't think anyone has mentioned that Food Stamps can be used for this - there are certain days (about a week) for you to place an order and you have to plan your food stamp money so you will have what you need on order day - we like the roasts the best - they are small, but my husband and I get two, sometimes three, meals from it (when the cat doesn't steal a piece!) - I go to our public library a lot and they have a stack of the Angel Food lists for the current month on the checkout counter -

damira

on Feb 4, 2009 at 11:14 PM

I'm not convinced it's cheaper than going to Sav-a-lot/Aldi's type of store. But I'm sure it can help a lot of people who may not live near one.

BooBooCat

on Feb 5, 2009 at 11:02 PM

I really like the Angel Food packages.

sgr123

on Feb 12, 2009 at 9:56 AM

I tried this once and have encouraged people not to use this service. I can feed my family of six better food for less. It's all about budgeting. The quality of Angel Food Ministries food is not very good. The meat is tough.

The best deal I have found is my local butcher. I know all people can't do this, but with taxes coming in, it's something to think about. My husband and I bought a quarter side of beef and paid $2.49 a pound. We have ground beef, roasts, steaks, the whole nine. It will last my family months (we got a half a hog for $125 as well) and it is cheaper and better quality than anything else out there.

Now, I only have to buy canned goods, fresh fruits and veggies and chicken occasionally. It will cut my food bill substantially.