After two years of writing about Angel Food Ministries as a way to stretch the food budget, Angel Food Ministries is finally available in my area. I’ve been hoping they’d come to Southern Oregon for some time now, and they’re finally here!
What is Angel Food Ministries?
Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization that provides food to individuals and families at a discounted price. Each community served by Angel Food Ministries has a host site, usually a church, responsible for taking orders for food boxes and distributing the food once or twice a month.
Food is said to be restaurant and grocery store grade, with no seconds or dented cans. Angel Food Ministries is able to get a purchasing discount on the food by purchasing large volumes of food. Then they separate the food into different “packages”, which people can order at a discount from regular prices.
There are no income restrictions as to who can participate, and anyone interested is encouraged to order food. It’s my understanding that the more people who participate, the bigger discounts Angel Food Ministries is able to get on food, because the bigger volume they order, the better deal they can get.
Angel food ministries also accepts SNAP (formerly food stamps), so those who depend on SNAP for purchasing food can also participate.
What Kind of Food Do You Get?
Angel Food Ministries offers 12 different boxes of food (as of May 2010…it may vary from month to month). The signature box is the most well known package, and it costs $30. This month it contains:
- 1.5 lb. ribeye steaks
- 2 lb. lasagna dinner entree
- 1.5 lb. breaded fish fillets
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 lb. lean all white meat chicken sausage
- 1.5 lb. country fried steaks
- 14-16 oz. hickory smoked ham steaks
- 1 lb. frozen peas & carrots
- 1 lb. frozen broccoli florets
- 1 lb. frozen sliced zucchini
- 15 oz. baked beans
- 24 oz. natural cut french fries
- 1.3 lb. frozen fruit medley
- 2 lb. fresh vidalia onions
- 32 oz. 2% shelf stable milk
- 1 dozen eggs
I would love it if all the food were fresh and not processed, but for a $30 food box, the ratio of processed to unprocessed foods is actually not bad.
But the question is, is this really a good deal? I haven’t personally compared prices, but a local news station went to our lowest priced grocery store and found that this combination of food at the store cost $45. So if you really need to cut corners, this is a good deal on food.
There is a regional price adjustment, depending on where you live. It seems in Southern Oregon the price adjustment is $3 per box. I would love to hear from readers if different areas of the country have similar price adjustments.
What if I Can’t/Don’t Eat Those Foods?
If you don’t eat any processed foods, Angel Food Ministries will probably not work for you. But they do offer different packages geared toward diabetics and those with food allergies. Unfortunately, both of those packages consist completely of convenience and breaded food.
In addition there are a few different meat packages, a fruit/veggie package, a couple of packages geared toward kids (one isn’t too bad, the other is all processed foods), and a few more miscellaneous packages.
There are no limits to the number or kinds of boxes you can buy, and if you don’t like the signature box, you can order any of the specialty boxes without ordering the signature box. Apparently this is a somewhat new policy.
All in all, Angel Food Ministries seems like a good deal, if you eat the kind of food they offer. So I can give it a full review, I ordered the signature box plus the fruit & veggie box this month. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
If you decide to order a box with Angel Food Ministries, make sure to check out retailmenot.com for coupons, before checking out. This month use the code zoomfeedback for 10% off your order.
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We have purchased Angel Food boxes in the past, and have found the quality to be excellent and the price is not out of line. Interesting that now you can order the specialty boxes without ordering the signature box; that is indeed new to me. The vegetables and fruits are very fresh. I have used the non-fat dry milk from Angelfood in a variety of recipes, and it is very handy, although we later got a container of shelf-stable milk.
I forgot to add: I had no idea coupons could be used for Angel Food. It’s something I will keep in mind.
You might want to google Angel Food Ministries as they are not short on controversy surrounding their finances and you are a finance blog. I personally cannot support that.
Yes, there is a lot of controversy regarding them right now…but I live in southern CA and I have been able to cut my grocery bill from $400 per month to $250 per month using Angel Food boxes. For a family of 5 on a VERY tight budget this has been a HUGE blessing! I LOVE that you can order as many signature or other boxes as you want!
I do NOT always find the fruit and veggie box to be a good deal. We have a Henry’s in town and they have WONDERFUL prices on produce, plus I don’t always use all the veggies they include in the box. I will admit that it is probably a better deal than buying produce at the local supermarket though.
The food has ALWAYS been a good quality…AND…they are very easy to contact and work with! One month I ordered 2 signature boxes. Each came with a bag of potatoes. For whatever reason about 1/2 of each bag was spoiled! SO…they replaced BOTH bags for me!
Interesting. I always wondered if those boxes were a good deal or not.
I ordered their produce box during the winter and was pleased with the quality. However, I probably won’t order from them this summer because I will be growing our own garden and shopping at the farmer’s market. I would rather have fresh food and support local farmers and eat in season when possible. I don’t trust that they’re really non-profit – I wouldn’t donate to them and instead view them as a cheaper grocery store.
I’ve never tried Angel Food ministries, but back when my college roommate and I used to live off $30 a week for groceries (for two), we would have been happy to have food like you list above. We used to buy fruits and veggies as part of that budget at the local Safeway, but often we found they were quite low quality. We may have actually been better off with frozen ones. And at the end of the week, we’d usually run out of food and be on to the ramen noodles again. I’d consider Angel Food Ministries if I were overwhelmed and under budget again.
Interesting article
‘Frugality among consumers is outliving recession’
A new frugality among consumers whose wealth has shrunk is outliving the recession
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Frugality-among-consumers-is-apf-3355135283.html?x=0
Holy Moses. I believed Angel Food Ministries when they ‘strongly implied’ that their thirty dollar boxes contained food valued at more than that. I got three friends to sign up with me, we all paid thirty each, stood in line, and received cardboard boxes with 18-22 items. We ‘waited’ for the rest of the promised food, and we were told that’s what we get for thirty dollars and that we should be thankful. Our local dollar store sold each Angel Food Ministry item for fifty cents to a dollar, and if we’d spent our thirty dollars at the dollar store (buying the same stuff AFM sold us), it would’ve cost sixteen dollars.
Maybe the meat boxes were a better deal, but for healthful and financial reasons none of us consume flesh anymore.
I would approach with caution and a lot of specific questions before handing them that amount of money again.
I have used Angel food a few months in the past and what was offered on those months were a very good deal in our part of NC. I have also gotten the fruit boxes and again for here they were very good price compared to what I could get for the same money here. I have to say though, there have been some months that the main box was not a good deal. I did notice that you can now get the fruit boxes without having to purchase the main box. I think whoever buys them would benefit from going to the grocery store with a list and just check the prices.
I checked and Angel Food does have a gluten free box. They even emailed me the ingredients list for some of their GF breaded poultry, ect. You may need to call the local distributor to see if the GF box is available in your area. I did not sign up since I don’t really eat processed foods but a friend of mine thought the box was a good deal considering the cost of GF foods (GF usually costs about 4 times what regular wheat containing products do) and the ease of preparing the breaded meat products.
Just personal opinions:
1) I purchased from Angel once in my area. The quality of the food itself was great. However, the options were so limited. I found it to not be a healthy way to eat when there are lower-cost alternatives for healthy eating WHERE FOLKS WOULD HAVE CHOICES.
2) In re: point #1, I believed, “Oh well, it’s just not for me.” Then on a boring day, I looked up financials, etc. I cannot support a “ministry” that has so much of it’s revenue going to pay admin expenses (like enormous family salaries). I put it in the same bucket as Joyce Myers – never again.
Why is it that people think that just because you run a non profit that you shouldn’t make any money? 75% of the money goes to the cause… that is no different than The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or the American Cancer Society. If I started a ministry that brought in over 27 million a year and helped thousands of people, well i would expect to get paid too.
I’ve ordered Angel Food’s signature box a couple of times. I’ve been pleased with the quality of the food. I live in Northern Colorado and we also have the additional $3 fee here as well. As far as the value, I’ve found that…
1. They are always less expensive than a comparable list of products at the cheapest local grocery stores.
2. They may be about the same or slightly more expensive if you were looking for the best deal on a product type. In other words, if you were willing to substitute fresh yams instead of their frozen, or if you were willing to substitute cube steak for chicken fried steak etc.
also FYI Angel Food Ministries accepts Food Stamps!!!
As one from a rural setting, Angel Food Ministry creates an amazing resource. Where grocery stores are often 20-40 miles away and the 4-5 aisle all purpose stores that are truly fuel stations are what people have to choose from, Angel Food offerings are not only economical, but much higher quality than our community could have achieved. You see, for many its not just that its gathered in a local church or building, its that they don’t have transportation and public transportation doesn’t exist there. The food compared to what was being purchased in the convenience stores was not only healthy, but much higher quality nutrition.
The food program is not income based, limiting only to those who are eligible, but provides opportunities for higher income, yet debt poor people to participate as they try to work out their debt problems.
I have found much value for Angel Food Ministries in inner city, rural, as well as urban settings. As one who makes from scratch most thing, its a little more convenience oriented, but the offers are well done. Add’l boxes allow for pantry and freezers to be used for planning as well.
If someone has a choice, he/she might probably do much better combining coupons/sales/stockpiling. We tried it a couple of times—we have a large family (2 adults/6 kids) so we needed 2 boxes. I really think I do better on my own at the grocery store with coupons etc.
However—for a shut-in, single person with no time to shop, or someone with limited grocery shopping options, it might work. The food could probably last a senior who lives alone for quite a while.
I have purchased from Angel Food many times as well as referred them many times. It’s well worth the money and even more so now that you can mix & match – meaning you no longer have to purchase the signature box in order to receive a specialty box! The food is good, but I have to add you must know how to cook or be somewhat creative to be able to use all the items. I have had a few occasions when there were things that were really just horrible, but 98% of it is average quality (think generic brand food). The fruits & veggies were excellent but not always the best deal depending on season and what you eat normally. The shelf stable milk is also excellent. The breaded chicken tenders are the best I’ve had as well as breaded chicken patties (I made then on onion rolls with bacon – delish). The worst part about it all was the number of facilities – we had to wait in line for hours. But that has slowly changed to 30 minute pick up time. Even if you had to wait, well worth it. Honestly, for those who have issues with their financial practices, that’s ok for you to not support them. Please keep in mind there are many people who are suffering financially who can really use a blessing like this. That $30 box fed me and my daughter well.
For frugal me, it wouldn’t be a good buy at this time.
Right now I live on free meats: fish, clams, goose, venison.
Then subtract the veggies that grow in my garden and I freeze, can, or dry them for later use…
and I am only left with the following that aren’t “Free” to me….
2 lb. lasagna dinner entree
14-16 oz. hickory smoked ham steaks
15 oz. baked beans
1.3 lb. frozen fruit medley
32 oz. 2% shelf stable milk
1 dozen eggs
So no, for me it would not be a good deal. For someone who does not have local free meat and cannot grow a garden, it might be ok. Add a sack of dried beans, rice, noodles, and spices, and you’ve got lots of soups and stews, enough for most of the month :)
Ps – there is not one within 50 miles.
AND – my RED potatoes are up!!!
I tried it, and can honestly say it’s horrible. For people who do not know any better and are used to eating at places like Denny’s, then for them it would probably be just okay.
Do not get your girls wear a plain white bridesmaid dresses.
I used Angelfood a couple of times and found the quality, especially the meats to be very bad. I did an experiment I printed out and took the Easter box menu with me, and went shopping. The angelfood Easter box is priced at $36.00. I purchased the items in the box at Walmart, and my total was $ 28.75. That is $7.25 cheaper than Angelfood sells the box for. Angelfood is a scam.
It’s hard to believe people would pay more money for food they can buy cheaper at any food outlets. Aldi’s is much cheaper and even local supermarket sales beat out these so called deals. I viewed the Strip steak package online. Strip steaks have bones now? I can only imagine how much fat grizzle these things have too.
If you want to help an organization out…Donate to it directly and use supermarket ads or shop at Aldi, Save-A-Lot and save money…don’t give to this scam.
the food quality is horrible, mostly the meat. the frozen veggies are frost bitten and look like the left over cuttings from other veggies, the fresh fruit and veggies are old and not fresh, looks imported from out of season country. can’t believe they are using a church to take advantage of people like this. and its over priced if you know how to shop….even without coupons. very very very dissapointing….sad.
Why use Angel Food when I can go to a grocery store buy my own food and distribute to hungry families without charging them? So sad how we who suppose to follow Christ always have some hustle or scheme
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