Queen Mother Blog

A friend recently passed on some information about Angel Food Ministries.  If you've never heard of them (which I hadn't), Angel Food Ministries offers a monthly food distribution that costs $30 and is equivalent to $60 worth of groceries.  They don't require any income or background check; all you do is find your local distribution center (which is usually a church, as Angel Food is a Christian-based organization) and place your order.

For more on Angel Food you can visit their website here.  Personally, I think that Angel Food looks like a viable option for many families.  The price is definitely reasonable, and they are able to pass on savings to the community through their bulk buying power.  What looks especially appealing to me are the "add-on" packages that can be added on to the monthly Angel Food box.  There is a produce add-on package that costs $22 additionally and would really round out the package.  Click here to check out what is in this month's box and the add-on packages.

Since I had never heard of Angel Food before, I did a little bit of research and apparently this charity is not without controversy.  I am not judging the charity founders, but it appears that there are some high salaries & kick-backs going on, which is distracting to the actual mission of the charity.  I am not so sure what my opinion is on all of that, especially as I don't know enough of the goings-on to make any kind of judgment, but I did just feel that I had to mention it.  You know I like to read the blog The Simple Dollar and Trent has written a very thorough overview of Angel Food Ministries, the ethics of using this service and the business aspect as well.  I recommend reading it if you would like to know more.

My bottom line is, I think this is a great idea for many families to pick up lower cost food options in a convenient manner.  The distribution is once a month and seems to be pretty hassle free.  While I think the Angel Food boxes are a great deal, I personally am not going to use this ministry as I really try to control what my family eats (the quality of Rayna's food in particular, and lately with me currently doing Weight Watchers). Using sales, menu planning and coupons, I am pretty happy with my current grocery spending.

If you have any thoughts or have used this service before, I'd love to hear them in the comments!