Angel Food Ministries
June 7, 2009 by MerryS
Filed under Frugal Living
With both my husband and son out of work, I have been contemplating the purchase of a food box, from Angel Food Ministries.
At first glance, their website looks more than promising. So much so that thousands of people, from around the country, take advantage of this service every month.
The premise is simple. You place your order, either by phone or online. Signature food boxes are $30, which supposedly reflects a $25 discount. The menu changes monthly and there are ‘add on’ boxes available, such as a fresh fruit and veggie box ($22) and an eleven pound chicken combo box ($22).
The food boxes, from Angel Ministries, must be ordered by a certain date early in the month. They are then distributed to multiple neighborhood ‘host sites’ (mostly churches and small ministries) where they can be picked up on a specific date, during the last week of the same month.
The June 2009 Signature box includes: (website states box will feed family of 4, for 1 week).
- 1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4 x 6 oz.)
- 2 lb. Homestyle Lasagna Dinner Entrée
- 2 lb. Beef and Bean Burritos (8 x 4 oz.)
- 2 lb. Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast Chunks
- 28 oz. Jumbo Beef Pattie Entrée with Gravy
- 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
- 1 lb. All Meat Hotdog
- 10 oz. Individually Wrapped Sliced Cheese (16 slice)
- 20 oz. Shoestring Fries
- 1 lb. Broccoli Cuts
- 12 oz. Peanut Butter
- 1 lb. Rice
- 1 lb. Pinto Beans
- 1 lb. Margarine Tub (Zero Grams Trans Fat)
- 32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
- Dozen Eggs
- Dessert
At first I thought this sounded like a pretty good deal. But, after thinking it over and doing a bit of research, I think I’m going to pass.
While I’m sure Angel Food Ministries is the perfect solution for some, I just don’t think it will work in my particular family situation.
Even though there are only three of us, in the household, this food box would not last a week. In addition, the majority of items aren’t what I classify as being healthy. I honestly think I could do better shopping with coupons or visiting my local Aldis.
In the last hour, I’ve read numerous comments in regard to food quality, as well. Many folks will tell you that after ordering one box, from Angel Food Ministries, they have decided against future purchases.
Complaints include: fruits and veggies that are past their prime, tasteless frozen entrées and breaded poultry that is almost all breading.
Another thing that concerns me is the fact that the family who started and still heads this organization was recently under investigation, by the FBI, for misappropriation of funds (with exception to their salaries).
The Reverend, along with his wife, two sons and daughter-in-law, each received ‘paychecks’ of more than $500,000, in 2006. They also appropriated another 600,000, to their church indicating it was a housing allowance.
The court order, stemming from this investigation, prevents them from using corporate credit card on any type of personal expenses.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t consider Angel Food Ministries, as a means to feed your family. There are many people who have been very happy with their purchases.
I’m only suggesting that you investigate alternatives, as well. Things like using coupons, shopping at local farm markets or joining a neighborhood food co-op can go a long way in stretching your food budget.
Have you purchased food boxes, from angel food ministries? If so, I’d LOVE to hear your comments, as would the rest of the MRB readers.
Photo by: Jessica Reeder
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Have you tried Great Food For All? I’ve tried both programs and found their food quality to be much better. It may be a workable solution for your family. Find them at http://www.greatfoodforall.com.
Unfortunately, it looks as though the service isn’t available in my area. I can say this much, the menu DOES look healthier than AFM. Thanks for posting the information.
Our church distributes Angel Food boxes and many are very satisfied. As for myself, I have not tried the food. It contains a lot of processed food that I think has poor nutrition. I can do much better nutritionally and financially by shopping sales. I try to plan my meals around sales and do very well, getting much more and better food for the same $30.00. The boxes are also heavy on meat and sometimes expensive cuts. I try to vary our diet with other protein sources like beans and fish. It is hard for me to support Angel Food ministries which promotes the food as being nutritional and a great savings. I don’t think it is either.
I did get afm, and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. The senior box was enjoyed by my father. The fruit and veggies were of good quality and taste. I also had no complaint with the meat steaks, chicken and brats were all good. The breaded countryfried steak patties were greasy. I haven’t ordered since because p/u times and menu items did not appeal to me. Have just looked at the Oct. menu and think I will order again. I have heard nothing but good reviews in my area, it must depend on what part of the country you live in. I am from the Midwest and give it a thumbs up. Again I buy whats on sale, and think you need to be a wise consumer in all purchases
I’ve been ordering from Angel Food Ministries since July, and I’ve always been impressed. I think they have done a lot in the last year or so to improve the quality and selection of food. I just picked up this month’s box today, and the fruit & veggie box is wonderful this month…not a single piece of bruised fruit, unripe items, nothing squished…it’s all perfect. The only thing that was so-so in quality was the fish sticks. The chicken nuggets are great, and they are definitely not “almost all breading.” My advice would be to try it yourself at least once to see what you think. Between the regular box and the fruit & veggie box I can get a lot of mileage out of it *and* eat healthily.
I have looked into buying from AFM too, but the value just isn’t there for me. An 11 lb box of chicken for $22? that’s two dollars per pound. I never pay that much for chicken. And since I have to eat gluten free, there is no way I could eat many of the foods in the regular food box. They have come out with a allergen free box, but it is nothing special. I’ll keep shopping at the grocery store and getting things that I both like and can eat, for less money than what they offer.
I’ve volunteered in the past at an AFM distribution site (for about a year and a half). The food quality is average to poor. We don’t order. The national ministry often sent inaccurate orders to our site, leaving us short multiple boxes. We had people who rely on their orders to feed their families, and AFM national offered little to no support or remedy (refunds or replacements a month later) when their error left us without enough food and scrambling to meet people’s needs. So, unfortunately, having long-term experience with this organization I can neither recommend it on its food quality, nor its ethical standards.
We ordered the $30.00 box from AFM , well they had use of our money for 3 weeks. The so called baby back ribs were not frozen and the bones were larger than any regular ribs I have had (they are not baby back !!). We put those in the trash. We tried the so called roast and it smells so bad its been soaked in some kind of brine or ??– that went in the trash. This AFM program is a rip off and should be look’d into . I will tell everyone about this, i should have kept the roast to show people but it smells so bad in the ref.it was thrown out and we just got this stuff the day before.
We just picked up our first AFM order this past weekend. So far, so good.
We ordered a Signature Box ($30), a 7 lb Premium Meat Grilling Box ($23), and the Produce Box ($22). I priced out the boxes at my local Kroger’s and found out that the Signature Box is by far the best deal (saved us about $12 over Kroger’s when compared to comparable off-brand items). Everything came as described and the produce was fresh and unbruised. We haven’t had any of the meat yet, but the fruit has been yummy (apples and oranges). The potatoes and carrots tasted great in a stew I made yesterday. The bread is really good too.
I didn’t like the sweet tomato sauce in the Hamburger Helper-like dinner but it was fine after I added some Basil and Oregano. We are trying the hamburger patties tonight and the Rib-Eye steaks this week too. I will be sure to post again if they are not up to snuff…they looked well-sealed and were very frozen.
BUT, my husband and I ate out at resturants and fast food joints 3-5 nights a week before trying out AFM, so we may have different standards than you - we weren’t expecting uber-healthy gourmet, just better than what we were eating anyway. We are happy so far and will have cut our food budget to about $350 this month instead of our normal $600. My husband and I were trying to find something to motivate us to cook at home more often and the grab-bag mentality of AFM works for me.
February 2010’s AFM Signature Box looks even better than January’s - saving us about $15 over Kroger’s. We will probably be ordering a couple of those this time around if the meat we try this week is good and will be ignoring the other types of boxes since I can get almost the same prices on produce locally.
Hope this helps!