Angel Food Ministries

[Duane Maynard]

Hi NazNet!

It has been some time since I was here and posted - had to re-register and all that. Whew! There is a lot to learn about this forum.

Anyway ... to the point ...

Recently I was at NCM`s website and found a link to Angel Food Ministries and Emmanuel Praise Church in Georgia.

It seems that someone came to NorthEastern Indiana District and presented the Angel Food Program to our Pastors at a District meeting.

I have a CD and info from the ADA, OK COTN about Angel Food.

There is a thread here with posts about a Barna book that gives a view of the church in decline in the USA, but I just read where citizens were on a tear supporting non-profit ( including church orgs ) programs reaching out to the world and our own citizens at a pace that will break all previous records of giving.

Anyone here have any contact with Angel Food Ministries? Does your church support such a ministry? Any discussion pro or con?

Angel Food, for those who may not be familiar with them, is not a give-away program such as a food bank. Although many churchs who begin the program find that a food bank is a good additional offering.

My wife and I have ordered food the last two months and we have found savings of over 50% on the food offered, which is mostly quick frozen chicken, beef and such and some fresh fruits and canned or boxed products.

Any discussion would be helpful as I pray and seek if this is something the Lord is asking us to get involved with.

Thanks NazNet family,

Duane and Penny

[Wendy Smith]

My brother and my husbands grandmother order boxes of food like that in the town they live.
It is thru a Luthern Church in Hutchinson Kansas.

I know they both enjoy the foods they get and have never been disappointed. Not living there...its not something I am not familiar with other than them telling me they went to pick up their boxes.

If you interested..i will ask my brother to get someone's name that works there to contact you...if it is the angel food ministry. Just let me know.
Wendy

[Jen Blackburn]

i just heard of Angel Food Ministries about a month ago -- it's more like a food co-op, versus a food pantry... *anyone* can participate.. if there were one closer to us in michigan, we'd probably take advantage of the good deal!

[Gary Swartzlander]

Here is the link to their website.

http://www.angelfoodministries.org/about.php

[Steven Stone]

It is a great program, our church does it on a regular basis. we help those in need as well as those in our own congregation. for 25.00 you get a lot of food and then you can get extra "special" boxes as well.

We love it. Personally, my family benefits from it, we can stock up on our own monthly groceries

Our church loves it, because we can still help needy families by giving them food and we don't have to worry about trying to find a room to "stock" food and other items. All you have to do is pick up the food once a month and then pass it out for an hour each month.

[Kevin Bockus]

Our Church will have our first distribution in January. AFM has been easy to work with to get started. People in our community have been driving 20 miles to get their food each month and are looking forward to having a local pick up. People were calling the church before we even announced we were getting involved to find out when we would be starting. The church is excited about it and looking forward to being able to help several hundred families each month with low cost food.

[Paul Whitaker]

Our church recently started the program. This month there were 480+ boxes taken.

There is another church in the area that picks up their items at our Youth Center and then takes the items to their church. Theirs was not in the 480 count.

It seems to be working quite well.

Several volunteers help with the program.

[Paul Whitaker]

http://angelfoodministries.com/videos/promo.php

This explains Angel Food Ministries

[BenJAMin Bristow]

Does anyone know about them?

[Jen Blackburn]

heard of them? yes..... been able to participate? no... there are no churches offering it around my direct area.

from what it sounds like, it's a food co-op type deal -- where you spend just $25 and get a bunch of food worth lots more than that...

here's march's menu of what you get for $25:

MARCH 2006 Menu (General Only)
(1) 5 lb. Chicken Leg Quarters
(4) 6 oz. Pork Chops
(1) 3 lb. Chicken Tenders
(8) 4 oz. Breaded Cubed Beef Patties
(1) 15 oz. Meatball Sub Sandwiches
(1) 2 lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
(1) 16 oz. Pillsbury Garlic Dinner Rolls
(1) 16 oz. Roasted Corn & Veggies (1) 2 lb. French Fries
(1) 15 oz. Tomato Sauce
(1) 16 oz. Vegetable Blend
(1) 7.5 oz. Mac & Cheese
(1) 7.5 oz. Pancake Mix
(1) 25 oz. Breakfast Cereal
(1) 32 oz. Shelf-Stable Milk
(1) Dozen Eggs
(1) Dessert Item
*I.Q.F. - Individually Quick Frozen
ALL THIS FOR THE LOW COST OF JUST $25.00


they also have "special" selections for an additional cost:
MARCH SPECIAL #1
(1) 5 lb. Thick Cut N.Y. Strip Steaks (8 10-oz.) - $18.00

MARCH SPECIAL #2
(1) 10 lb. Popcorn Chicken - $15.00


you can find a participating church at their website here:

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/index.php


i would definately participate if there was one nearer to me!

[Cindi Hammons]

Our Potter's House Ministries has been trying to initiate this, but to make it worthwhile, AngelFood requires them to have a huge amount of participants (500 families, I think). So far, it has been impossible to get the required number. So much for helping out those just trying to make ends meet. :rolleyes:

Cindi H.

Edited to add...we live in a small community which is hampering us from getting the large number of families needed to participate in the program. We are still hoping to add to the list. SO, if anyone is near Scioto County, Ohio and wants to participate, call The Potter's House Ministries at the Sciotoville Church of the Nazarene.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

Moderators note: We had three threads going about Angel Food Ministries and I merged them all into this one.

For future reference, it just takes a second to click on "search" and type in Angel Food...it will take you to the right thread, where there is a good possiblilty that questions have already been answered.

[Mike Wooldridge]

The following excerpts are from a story about a food ministry and Euless, TX First Church.
Church's mission can be packed into a box
...Angel Food Ministries, whose mission is simple: Distribute food that would cost $50 in a store to needy people for half the cost. No proof of income or any other qualifier is needed to sign up for boxes.
Angel Food Ministries operates in 32 states and feeds 500,000 families each month. It began 12 years ago in Georgia from the back porch of one minister, Joe Wingo.
Barbara Reed of North Richland Hills is one of two outreach ministers for the Angel Food program in North Texas. She works with more than 100 churches in Fort Worth, Dallas, Waxahachie, Sherman and points in between.
'Angel Food really crosses denominational lines,' said Reed, who has worked for the ministry for four years and hasn't missed a distribution day despite cancer treatment and her husband's death.
People register to receive their boxes early in the month, then pick them up on distribution day at the participating church. The distributions are usually on the last Saturday of each month, 'the time of greatest need, because people are out of money by then,' Reed said.
A box typically contains supermarket-quality frozen meat and chicken, plus staples like rice, pasta, peanut butter and vegetables. A box can feed a family of four for a week or a single senior for almost a month.
The program is designed for seniors on fixed incomes, working families with tight budgets and people who have lost their jobs or who have medical problems. Food stamps can be used to pay for boxes, and families in the most need are often subsidized by church members.
www.angelfoodministries.com
Angel Food distribution sites
First Church of the Nazarene
801 Midway Drive
Euless, TX
www.eulessfirstnaz.org

[Ryan Scott]

It would also be a great outreach for a congregation if you charged full price for the food to people who could afford to pay it in order to give free food to those who can't afford anything. It provides a lot of flexibility, if done right.

[Mark Bolerjack]

Steve Nation, former pastor in Ada, OK is probably the person you are refering to. He is a great guy. When we pastored on SE Okla district, he was the district secretary. Not sure if he is still. He had become heavily involved in Angel Food while still pastoring, and now is full time with that ministry.

There are a number of churches in the OKC area doing this, including Bethany First. We did buy a box a few months ago, but with with diet restrictions, it was not to our advantage to continue. However, it is a great program, and you get a lot of food for the money.

[Brad Mercer]

NewStart-Frisco has an active Angel Food ministry and are happy and excited about it. It brings them in contact with a lot of people in the community with whom they wouldn't otherwise be in contact, and it just feels like something the church ought to be doing.

Brad

Steve Nation, former pastor in Ada, OK is probably the person you are refering to. He is a great guy. When we pastored on SE Okla district, he was the district secretary. Not sure if he is still. He had become heavily involved in Angel Food while still pastoring, and now is full time with that ministry.

There are a number of churches in the OKC area doing this, including Bethany First. We did buy a box a few months ago, but with with diet restrictions, it was not to our advantage to continue. However, it is a great program, and you get a lot of food for the money.

[Cindi Hammons]

News from Sciotoville,

We have been working with Angel Food Ministries now for 5 months. Each month our numbers have increased and we are now serving over 300 families per month. It has been a wonderful experience for our church. It has helped the community and they have been so grateful to The Potter's House at our church.

It is a great program. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them.

[Gina Stevenson]

News from Sciotoville,

We have been working with Angel Food Ministries now for 5 months. Each month our numbers have increased and we are now serving over 300 families per month. It has been a wonderful experience for our church. It has helped the community and they have been so grateful to The Potter's House at our church.

It is a great program. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them.

Tho't, when reading your first post re a 500-family requirement, that it sounded rather high, knowing of a couple of churches here that do that, and didn't think they had that high number of participants. Glad to hear it's going well. Have wondered re checking it out sometime but, hearing of things in the boxes (from a gal I know who handles it at this one church), if I used just half of it, then there wouldn't be much advantage to it (am I a picky eater? ;)). Might have to try it, anyway, then give away things I don't use, and see what's left ... if there's still $25 worth of things in the box. ;)

[Peggy Freese]

Our church, Montpelier COTN has been involved for the past few months with Angel Food. We have had just over 50 food units, as they call them, as the highest count for distribution. The 500 unit count is for a "drop site". we have to go to the Toledo area drop site ( about 45-50 miles from Montpelier)to pick up our units.
Gene and I are kinda picky on what we eat, and like Gina said, we either trade with others for things they don't want or we put the not liked items into the small food pantry at the church.
We have other church in Montpelier that are going to order units, but are going to place orders through our church. With the talk and advertising, we have had several people that do not attend our church, or any church for that matter, purchasing these units. We are hoping that other close towns will, and there is talk of other COTN will be possibility starting AFM, there will the 500 unit "purchase" and a drop zone will be established in the Montpelier area!

just my observations from our distribution site...

peggy

[Gina Stevenson]

Thanks, Peggy, for "splaining" this 500-count. Wondered about it when first reading it. ;)