The following article was written by Darren who writes at his blog MoreThanFinances.com.
When looking to save money on groceries, most people usually think of clipping coupons or buying in bulk at stores such as Costco or Wal-Mart. However, here’s an additional resource that you may not have heard of.
About Angel Food Ministries
Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support to communities throughout the U.S. It was founded in 1994 when Joe and Linda Wingo were looking to provide food for their friends and family who were having financial difficulties. Their hearts went out to families who were affected by industrial plant closings in the nearby Monroe, GA area. On their back porch, the first food distribution fed 34 families. Over the years, other churches wanted to get involved, and the ministry had expanded across the southeast. Currently, this program is providing food to more than 500,000 families across 44 states every month!
How It Works
Food orders are handled by a nearby church host site, and money is collected during the first part of each month. Several days later, the host site either picks up the food from a central warehouse, or the food is delivered to the host site. Paid orders can then be picked up at the host site on their designated distribution dates.
Orders can be placed either at the host site, or online. They take both credit and debit cards for payment. If you’d like to pay with cash, check, or money order, you can contact the host site directly to place your order. The order deadline is typically in the middle of the month, with the distribution date at the end of the month. Additionally, there is no purchase limit for boxes of Angel Food.
Who Qualifies
This program is open to anyone and everyone, with no restrictions, special applications, or conditions. Furthermore, they also participate in the food stamp program to help low-income families in need.
About the Food
Every month, Angel Food Ministries offers a menu of food items known as their signature box for the price of $30. However, the retail value for the items is estimated to be $65, and the food is restaurant grade. Each month’s menu is different, consisting of fresh, frozen, and packaged food. The food is purchased from the nation’s top food suppliers at substantial volume discounts, thereby offering the same quality foods while passing along the savings to the customers.
There are no second-hand items, no damaged or out-dated goods, no day-old breads and no produce that is almost too ripe. One unit of food is enough to feed a family of four for about a week, or a single senior citizen for a month.
Participating Locations
There are over 5,200 host sites that are located throughout 44 states in the U.S. You can search for the site nearest you by entering your zip code. If there currently isn’t a host site in your area, churches and other organizations can apply to become a host site. Over 200 new host sites are being added every month.
Sample Menu
Each month’s menu is different, and the current month’s signature box consists of:
- 2 lbs. chopped beef steaks flavored with dijon mustard
- 1 lb. bacon wrapped turkey breast filet mignon
- 1 lb. boneless center cut pork chops
- 2 lb. macaroni & beef dinner entree
- 2.5 lb. IQF split chicken breasts
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 12″ supreme pizza
- 1 lb. frozen peas & carrots
- 1 lb. frozen whole kernel corn
- 2 lb. bag fresh apples
- 2 lb. heat and serve broccoli & cheese soup
- 24 oz. natural cut french fries
- 6.5 oz. stroganoff skillet meal
- 1 lb. rice
- 1 dozen eggs
- 1 dessert item
And besides their signature box, they also offer additional food choices through various specialty boxes. These include a 5 lb. allergen-free food box for $23, a 6 lb. seafood variety pack for $35, a 6 lb. assorted meat grill box for $23, and 4 X 4 family meal kit for $35.
Final Thoughts
Although I’ve never placed an order through this program, this does seem to be a very good deal for the amount of food that you receive. Furthermore, what the founders are doing through their organization is definitely very admirable.
Have you ordered food from Angel Food Ministry? If so, what was the quality like? If not, would you try them out? Share your thoughts below.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve known some families who have regularly purchased monthly groceries from Angel Food Ministries. The neat thing about it was that sometimes they didn’t use everything that came in the box, or perhaps didn’t like or couldn’t eat a certain item. So they would donate leftovers to other needy families or large families in the church who needed some extra help. It was such a great thing to witness.
Its a wonderful program.
THANK YOU! Last time I checked – about a year ago – the nearest location was about three states away.
Now they have a location almost around the corner.
Sounds like a wonderful alternative and upgrade to rice and beans if you are trying to cut back on the budget to get out of debt! Although rice and beans are very nutritious and delicious in their own way as well. Thanks for sharing. I did not realize this was open to everyone.
Shirley, yes it does sound like a wonderful program. From those families that you know, do you remember what they thought the quality was like?
Terry, that’s awesome that there’s a location near you now! There’s actually one a few blocks from my house as well. I’d love to hear what you think of the food!
BibleDebt, yeah it seems like with this program, you can eat well and still live within an established budget. Isn’t it pretty cool that anyone can participate in this?
I remember Mom buying food through AngelFood when I was younger. Their offerings have only improved since then.
My wife and I have looked at buying some food from them, but find that we would be discarding (donating) half of the food each month, as there are simply things on there that we don’t eat. Since we’d be donating such a great amount it ends up not being a great bargain for us.
I have purchased food through Angel Food Ministry before while in transition from school and it’s a great program. The only suggestion would be to add a vegetarian option(s).
I originally heard about Angel Food Ministries about a year ago, but was skeptical. Eventually I decided to give it a try when they had a menu we could all agree on. The meat was wonderful. It even comes with a sweet dessert. Also I get the produce package for a nice variety of fruits and veggies at a really nice price. I think it’s a great program, and it is a wonderful way to save money.
Matthew, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you that in regards to their signature box of food, since there are some foods that I just don’t eat (in an effort to stay healthy), it doesn’t make it as great of a deal for me as well. But their 4X4 family meal kits look like a healthier option that I would consider.
The box containes foods that are more processed with less vegetables/fruits than we prefer but is still popular with alot of people. I’ve found by shopping loss leaders at our local stores and freezing it ends up being a better deal for us. And AF has mostly dinner foods, not a true “week’s worth of groceries for four”. However, depressed areas tend to have higher prices (pilferage?, knowing people don’t have transportation to cheaper places?) at their stores and Angelfood has been a real boon to families there. We have a few more options where we live.
I’ve been buying a box or two each month from either Angel Food Ministries or a similar program called Great Food for All for about two years. Most of my purchases are from AF because Great Food’s location was farther away from my home, but I did give that one a try.
You can pick from any of the AF food boxes now. So if you don’t like what is in the $30 box in any given month, you can order a different box. I sometimes do that.
Here is the trick that I’ve been telling people: Angel Food is a very good compliment to coupon tricks and supermarket loss leaders. The AF boxes are mostly meat and basic supplies; not the items that work well on coupon tricks. Put the two together, and / or add in some other tricks such as learning new recipes, and you will be surprised how much your grocery bill goes down.
The grocery class I teach is an 8 Week Plan. The savings settles in so fast in part because I tell the participants to include AF and / or Great Food in their shopping routine. If you relied only on supermarket specials, it could take longer to get the monthly grocery bill down.
Thanks Monroe. That’s great to know. I’ll have to compare AF meat prices (we have two stores in town with competing meat departments and access to local farmers and a bump and dent place with wild bargains). Current pantry/freezer stocking specials- boneless pork ribs, $1.69 lb, chicken quarters 49 cents lb., bacon ends $1.00 lb, mozzerella 99 cents lb, eggs 99 cents doz, tuna 69 cents can. When I used AF you had to purchase the mixed box first to get any of the specials. And that was the rub. We don’t bread our meats or use alot of salt, gravy, or spice. So even though we used everything up it wasn’t our prefered type of food. We like the plainer stuff better. Thanks for mentioning the change of procedure.
I have used AF every month for over a year. It is a wonderful way to help a tight budget. It has improved considerably in the past year. I add fresh produce and other groceries items throughout the month, but it is such a great help in stretching the dollar. I am so thankful to have AF available near me.
Thanks for sharing your opinions and experiences everyone!
@K.D. – Just as Lauren mentioned, there is a fruit and veggie box available this month. However, I’m not sure if this is offered on an ongoing basis.
@Monroe – I’ve never heard of Great Food for All. I’ll have to go check it out. Thanks for the tip!
@Olivia – Just FYI, when I attempted to order online, I tried to place an order for an item other than the signature box, and it did let me proceed to filling out my personal info. So maybe they’re not requiring you to purchase it before any of the other specials.
I agree with Olivia. I have only ordered from AT one time and while it was a good value for our money, we weren’t overly impressed with the quality. Many of the items seemed to be the same types of things that you might buy out of the frozen meal sections at the grocery store. Basically this means that they are overly salty to make up for the lack of fresh flavors. Since I have only tried this once, I can’t speak too much about it, but that’s just my one experience.
Darren, the main family in particular raved about the food. They mentioned that the meat was always good quality. I can attest to this because they gave us portions of the meat every now and then. They never had any complaints about the program or the food, in fact they were always pushing my husband and I to join!
There is an AF facebook fan page if you want to see more comments and articles: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angel-Food-Ministries/87913963104?ref=mf
Darren – here is the Great Food link http://www.greatfoodforall.com/
In the meantime, here is the AF April menu page where they state “Angel Food specials can now be ordered individually with or without the purchase of one of the standard boxes.” http://www.angelfoodministries.com/menus/menu_2010-04_en.asp
I found out about this program from a friend at work. The sample menu looked good and I was game for saving some money on my grocery bill. I found the host church and placed an order. I really don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but I was extremely disappointed. After reading some of the reviews I am wondering if the food sources are the same for every area of the country. The meat I received (beef and chicken) was very disappointing. I baked the 2.5 lbs. of chicken and it shrunk so bad it looked like quail. It seemed there was a lot of water in it. I could not eat the ground beef after I opened the package and smelled it. The color was off and the package stated it was from Canada, not that that in itself was a problem. The frozen meals (ex: stroganoff skillet and macaroni and beef) just didn’t taste good and I kept finding what seemed like pieces of gristle in it. There is also a lot of sodium and fat in the meals. One item had 27 grams of fat. Good news, the fruit, eggs, milk and dessert items were all just fine. This is a wonderful program for folks who are struggling in these tough economic times and I applaud the work that’s being done.
Our family used a similar “co-op” type purchasing service through a couple different churches when I was a kid. Those boxes seemed to have more ingredients, fewer processed foods. Since I was little, my mom and I have both moved to using healthier recipes, so I wouldn’t buy a box now. I do think it would be a great deal for busy families with little time or interest in cooking. Probably pretty salty, but still more nutritious I would guess than a diet of Cheetos and soda.
I am a volunteer at my church with AngelFood. We just had our first distribution this weekend. I think the food is good and a good deal. The majority of the food is Frozen fresh meats. the fruits and veggies are fresh and very flavorful. there are several options for purchase to help people tailor their selections to their lifestyles. and if you find anything of disappointing quality contact the AMF home office, I have heard they don’t fool around and expect nothing less than quality food from their suppliers.
Wow, wonderful way to use the power of the masses to save money. I love it! So many people can benefit from this!
Our church also offers this through TreasureBox.org. I did look at Angel Food though and noticed they have a variety of options for the healthier recipes one of your readers commented about. Also, I have celiac disease so I can’t eat gluten and Angel Food offers allergen free foods….such a huge thing for someone like me because gluten free food is sometimes double the cost in the market. Yeah!
My wife and I have been purchasing Angel Food for over 3 years and really enjoy it. We started while in school, and have continued to purchase because the food is quality. Sure there are items each month that we don’t enjoy, but for the most part it is a great deal. I would highly recommend Angel Food to anyone, not just folks on a budget.
@Linda – I appreciate your honest opinion. Sorry to hear that you didn’t have a great experience with this. I guess this program isn’t for everyone.
@Doreen – Thanks for being a volunteer! And thanks for the tip about contacting the home office if you’re disappointed. This may be of help to all the readers. If anyone is curious, they can be reached at 1-877-366-3646.
@Gina – Thanks for sharing that other resource with us! I’ll have to check out that website. Glad to hear you found cheaper options for food that meets your dietary needs.
@Shawn – Wow, a loyal customer for 3 years! Glad to hear you enjoy it as well.
I’ve been getting the fruit & veggie box for a couple of mo. , it has truly been a blessing to me & a variety of good food that I would normally not buy – this way I do get the needed veggies & fruit into my diet – it last me a mo. & is so much better to snack on fruit than a candy bar or chips . The quality is excellent but even then I must remember to eat the pears or other fruits that will spoil first before the apples ,just common sense . I couldn’t believe it when I first heard about it – kinda too good to be true thing- but it is and I can’t believe it has no qualifiers ,yet is so little known , most people probably feel it is charity or like for the poor only , but it is not , it has come at a poor time for me but if ever back on my feet ,why would I pay more just for a brand name etc. ,again just common sense . Thank-You for your article & opportunity to respond to it . Bless all who find & use this service , especially the founders .
@Susan A – That’s so awesome to hear how you’ve been blessed by the food program! And I agree, fruits and veggies are a better alternative to candy or chips. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I purchased food packs from Angel Food Ministries for a couple of months last year, but then decided not to use the service any longer because the quality of the foods (especially the meats) was just not that great. I also didn’t care for the fact that three of the meals in the week’s worth of foods were pre-packaged, heat-and-serve type foods. These foods are so bad for you, because they are loaded with sodium, fat, and preservatives. Fresh ingredients could be provided at a substantial savings to the program, allowing for each food box to contain an extra couple of items instead. Price-wise, I am usually able to find similar quality foods at my local 99 Cents Only Store, including meats and produce, and sometimes even better quality meats on sale nearby, so the price of $35 for an Angel Foods box was not a savings for me. For people who live in communities that do not have 99-cent stores that offer frozen foods and produce or stores that place meats on sale for really good prices, however, Angel Foods can be a God-send.
Keri, are you referring to the 99 cent store chains? If you are, I’m aware that they sell fruits, but I didn’t know that they sell meat. And you say the quality is pretty good? Can anybody else confirm this and share their experience?
I’ll make sure to check this out the next time I head to the store. Thanks for sharing your comment!
After reading this article and comments, I am going to go and try them out. I have never heard of them, but we are in the process of budgeting and every penny counts right now. I think the holiday packages will be a huge help.
Hi Sara,
That’s nice! Let us know how it works for you.
Hi!
I have used Angel Food for some time now..and still think it is a good value for the most part. I have a really hard time ignoring the abuses at HQ, though.
Here you have all these volunteers doing tons of work for nothing…and the people at HQ paying themselves hunreds of thousands of dollars a year for this.
I used to get the fruit box..but I began to notice a alarming trend. Much of the fruit was very ripe..and needed to be eaten within the first day or so.
So I stopped getting the fruit box.
The latest surprise is the seafood box which I have enjoyed greatly. When I signed up for this last month..it said nothing about it being a grabbag..and they would give me what they wanted. It is..and this is the last straw on that..no more seafood box for me.
So..that leaves me getting the extended box by itself for next month. I made the mistake of getting the extra fruit box last year..and that was just too much for me and my cat. I had a hard time GIVING it away..so..none of that this year.
I still think the expanded box is a good value. Not as good as it used to be, though.
Bryon
I have ordered from them for three months now.
I find that there are a variety of choices to meet most people’s dietary needs.
The produce box which is vegetables and fruits is great because I never buy things like kiwi’s or whole pineapples. The staple veggies are sweet potato, onion and cabbage. These foods last a while and can be used for many different type of meals. There are boxes which have more meal type things. This can be great for a family that eats “American”. The half of the proteins are “clean” just meat, egg, or milk with breading. The other half seems to be prepared like commercially prepared food like chicken fingers, fried fish. The main dishes are things like frozen lasagna or the like. Most of the hotdogs are prepared conventionally with corn syrup or the like, per usual in grocery stores.
For a family with no food restrictions and kids this is a wonderful boon. There are deserts, pancake mix, applesauce packs, french fries, things I would never ever spend money on. I did a price comparison and I think it is about 40-50% less expensive.
The December menu for 2010 is awesome. They have an extra fruit box that is packed. They have a holiday Christmas meal. You may want more or different foods, but for $36.00 do have the foundation of the meal put together, it couldn’t be better.
The organization of it is that you need a car or a friend with a car. You need to be free on the pick up day during a small window of time. You need a freezer to put the frozen foods. You need to be open minded and grateful if the meat isn’t exactly the way you would normally buy it. Purdue is Purdue. some of the meat packs are like no name packed for Angel Food Ministries.
You also have to be open minded about the venue you pick up at. Mine has a prayer circle at the same time, so when you go to pick up, you WILL be asked if you need prayer or would like to pray for some one else.
I expect that if the AFM get LOTS of feed back for more foods with no additives or is less processed they will try to do that.
I love getting the food from a local group rather than another big name corporation.
Best, hope this helps.
My kids and I have been using angel food for several months. Since it’s just me and 2 children, I can buy enough food for a month for under $100. I realize that there is probably better food out there, but this was the biggest blessing we’ve had in a long time. I am a single mother and before I found out about this, I was struggling to buy enough food from the supermarket and couldn’t ever buy meat–it was just too expensive. Being able to save money this way, freed up more money to buy some items in bulk, which helps me save more in the long run (things like peanut butter and salad dressing that don’t come in the box are almost always cheaper in the bigger packages). I’m thankful for this program. My income put me at $3 over the limit for food stamps. I’m not picky. Food is food.
I can afford fresh fruits and vegetables this way–something that was very limited just a few months ago. My kids get to try new, healthy things like kiwis and I’ve started serving fruit after dinner. I’ve learned how to make soup out of common things like potatoes or broccoli, all based on what comes from the angel food box. We’re eating well and I have had no complaints about the food in the boxes. I couldn’t be more thankful to God for providing the food and I pray that he will bless the volunteers who make it possible.
I just purchased my first two boxes from Angel Food Ministries. We have experienced some economic hardships this year and I am SO GRATEFUL to this program. I purchased two boxes for December and I am buying more for January. This program is probably not for folks who are super picky about organics and like to prepare stuff from scratch. And that is fine. I do like to cook but not for two hours each night! Pickup is super easy – LOADS of volunteers to escort you and help you in any way. We have had the roast, the burgers and the waffle fries and they were all great. This is a great program to help people stretch their food dollar. I HIGHLY recommend this program – give it a try. I am excited to purchase packages for January. Have lots of room in your freezer! There will be lots of frozen stuff.
Glad it helps you VikingsGal!
Yup! Make the freezer work!
My fridge gave out Wednesday night.
When I emptied the freezer into my chest freezer the food I was transferring was the Angelfoods we had in storage.
Also, I kept the boxed milk from the past two orders and now that we don’t have a refrigerator, it is great to know it isn’t going to go bad!
You may get what you pay for and you may not. They reserve the right to substitute items but what happened to me this month is unacceptable.
I posted this on another website and emailed AFM but from reading other reviews where complaints were sent to AFM, emails went unanswered.
My Story:
I had stopped using AFM because, as all the others have said, price went up and quality has gone down. I decided to try again this month because the menu claimed to have items my children love. Imagine my surprise when I found that not one or two but the majority of items I ordered had been substituted with items not even similar to what I ordered. I ordered the Bit-o-blessing box which usually has ready to cook meals(the only reason I buy) and that’s what I was supposed to get this month.
It was to contain: 3 lbs BirdsEye Steam Fresh Meals, Chicken Alfredo, Steak Fajita Strips, Fish Wedges, French Fries, 15 Bean Soup Mix, Frozen Corn and Fudge Brownie Mix
What I received was: 1 1b DARK Brown Rotten Hamburger Meat, 1 pack raw beef patties, 1 raw Whole Chicken, Frozen Carrots, 1 lb Red Beans, Fish Wedges, Fries and 2 cheap snack cakes. Nothing similar to anything I was supposed to get except the fish and fries.
I also ordered a box of NY Strip Steaks and received 4 lbs Beef Steaks instead. What a waste of money and so dishonest of AFM. I can accept substituting one or two items but to completely change the menu without letting you know and giving you the option of accepting or not. I’m requesting a refund and will file a charge back with my CC if not received. Never again!! Quality and Customer Care doesn’t exist with AFM anymore. Profit and greed have taken over this “Ministry”.
My mother orders from Angel Food Ministries every month and has been for more than two years. The quality of the food is great. We have only encountered a few items that we wew not satisfied with. The value is pretty good and can help boost your meal planning tasks. I usually benefit by getting some items from my mom’s box that she doesn’t think she will cook or need.
FROM ANGEL FOOD MINISTRIES WEBSITE – 09/26/2011
Message – Angel Food Update
Angel Food Ministries has considered many options regarding our future. At this time we regret to inform you that we have not found a solution that will allow Angel Food Ministries to continue to distribute food on a monthly basis and have decided to cease operations. We realize the pressure that this places on our host sites, community food banks and customers.
However, there is a group of former employees and food vendors that are working to find a better way of serving those who have come to depend on Angel Food.
Unfortunately many if not all other food ministries have gone out of business in recent years. Angel Food has not been immune from the same economic and market conditions that led to the loss of other food ministries. It’s important to note that in the past we never relied on donations; less than 1% of annual revenues have come from donations. We are grateful that we have been able to help tens of millions of customers save hundreds of millions of dollars in food costs. We also are grateful to have been able to return about $24 million to our church host sites and other partner organizations.
With the help of our volunteer staff 98 percent of the thousands of customers who placed an order for September have already received a full refund. We continue to work with the USDA to credit the remaining 59 customers who used their SNAP benefits to place a September order. Federal regulations prohibit us from simply sending them a check for a full refund.
The USDA/SNAP officials have been very helpful in seeing to it that these refunds are taking place in an orderly fashion. Those who placed orders through their local host sites will need to contact that site directly for a full refund.
We are comforted by the thousands of comments we have received expressing support for Angel Food Ministries and the great need to continue helping those in need. We at Angel Food Ministries are truly heartbroken to have to cease operations but it has not compromised our faith in God or our commitment to helping those in need.
Please check this website often for the latest information. Thank you for your prayers, faithfulness and your commitment to Angel Food Ministries over these past 17 years.
Feel free to contact us at angelfood@angelfoodministries.com.