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Readers Respond: Have you tried Angel Food Ministries? What do you think of it?
Responses: 49

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Angel Food Ministries – it seems to be one of those things that you either love or hate. Tell us what you think of the program. Share Your Experience

Angel Food cmments

I had heard both good and bad about Angel Food, so I volunteered to help at a site nearby. I found that since it is mostly volunteer work sometimes things get put in the wrong box, etc. Also met some nice people. I'm not a christian but found no pushing religion at me, which I liked. Food was good quality, and although it wasn't always to our taste preferences, I could either trade it out or learn to like something new. Would be hard for a committed vegetarian, though, I think. Plan to keep on with it.
—mollyjeanne

Angel Food vs Walmart

I have used angel food for about six months. I would usually get the main box and two senior meal boxes. I stopped getting the produce because most of it was not very fresh. This month, I decided to experiment. I took an Angel Food menu with me and purchased similar items at Walmart. I actually spent LESS at walmart than I would have at Angel Food, and the quality of what I bought at Walmart was much better and fresher. The other thing that annoyed me about Angel Food, is when I would go to pick up the food, the volunteers at this church were RELENTLESS in trying to get you to go to their church. If Angel Food is getting money from USDA, why are they using it to try to recruit new church members?
—Guest cowboymike

Like it

I tried AFM in August and was pleased with the food. (basic box) I ordered all 4 boxes in Sept., and was able to provide my family with meals for a month. I found the meat to be of good quality, and plentiful. Since meat makes up most of our grocery bill this really helped. I do supplement with purchases of chicken or ground beef when I find items on sale at deep discount, but now I am buying only basic staples at the grocery store. Helps? You bet. Quality? Good so far. Convenience? Yes. Savings? Cut grocery bill almost in half!!
—Guest Lee

Happy with AFM

Our family has been using Angel Food for the last 3 months. We have been happy with both the value of the packages and the quality of the food. Couponing is good and so is shopping sales but Angel Food saves time while these other methods take your time. It also keeps you out of the grocery store and prevents those impulse purchases that break the budget. I'd love to see the Latin fruit and veggie box come back- it was like an adventure in trying out new things. We have been very pleased with our purchases and will continue to use them. It's nice to know that our purchases actually help others in the community. If you haven't tried them- give them a chance at least one time before being discouraged by the negative opinions on this blog. You don't have to buy it if you don't like it.
—Guest Mary Ann

Should've Donated My Money Elsewhere

The first time I tried AFM, the food was okay, except for the inedible spread with a lake of oil on top. Today I tried a different AFM location, got lost (left messages on their machine), and arrived 15 minutes late. Tardiness is not tolerated; their policy is to donate boxes, no exception. The couple entering the building just ahead of me were late, but got their food with no problem. Just my bad luck that "my" boxes had already been given away, I guess. Somebody got me some convenience box food out of the freezer, but I was out of luck regarding the fruits/veggies box. There were three boxes with names on them sitting on the floor. The person-in-charge saw me eyeing them, and if I'd been in her shoes, but.... I was late, fine, my tough luck, but what hurts the most is not that I'm out $22 (for food), plus gas, but that nobody even said they were sorry they had already given away my food. Did they cut my food budget in half? No way. I'm glad people like AFM, but I'll never go back.
—stillanidealist

Angel Food Ministries A Good Deal

I have been using AF for about 1.5 years and have been very satisfied with the food. Like others, if I were going to the store I would not buy all of the choices they put in the box. However, I either find new recipes or occasionally give something away. (We don't like the heat-n-eat food i.e. prepared lasagna, salisbury steaks,etc). We have a Krogers in our town and can only afford Kroger brands and weekly specials. We prefer to shop at Aldi's but it is about 25 miles (one way) from our home. AF gives us a good selection of meats and side dishes to stretch our food budget. We love the fruit & Veggie boxes along with the meat specials. You need to know how to cook to fully appreciate the AF.
—Guest Cheri

Helping me to help others

This is the first time i ever ordered from AFM and must say I am pleased with the food I received. Was looking to cut our personal foodbill, so I may continue to support the foodbank at my church.The meat portions are the size of what we are supposed to eat. The meat is very tender also. I am looking forward to ordering again next month. Shared info on AFM with family and friends. There are a lot of needy familys that can benefit from this wonderful program.God bless.
—Guest Johanna

Angel Food?

The meat is not the quality that you find in the stores. I don't know where they get it? But, could you really be eating meat for that price? The veggies are good! The other items, if you get it every month, you will build up your pantry after awhile, & you will eat different things! It has simplified my menus...I just go to the pantry & choose. It is definately worth the price! I don't always like the dessert item...they do substitute, at their discretion. The Senior Meals..I didn't like them at all! And, now they have an Ethnic Veggie selection! If you bought both veggie selections, that alone would save you more than the $30.00! All, in all, I think Angel Food is a wonderful program!
—Guest Mel

Keep Questioning...

You can do much better at the grocery store. Look in the frozen section for what is sale, or better yet-buy bulk fresh meat and cook it yourself, and freeze. It will go a lot farther. Consider your dollar stores for cookies, sauces, canned food ,and drinks. The food there is always VERY GOOD. Veggies and fruit, just get what is on sale. What concerns me about all the frozen food is the salt content. Cut meat pieces in half, and serve salad, veggie and perhaps some wheat bread/butter to fill up the plate. Also, home spiced pasta sauce and salad can go a long way in weekly food planning. Use the sauce for several types of pasta & chicken parm, and salad can be topped with eggs & or meat. Eggs can make egg salad sandwhiches, quiche, and egg sandwhiches. For awesome pasta sauce, just add dill, sugar, and italian seasoning to canned sauce. Canned chicken can be thrown over pasta that is mixed with jarred garlic, butter and chives. All very good, my family loves it all. Just learn to spice!
—Guest Maria

I was impressed

I was skeptical of the AFM deal and we received our first box last Saturday. I was impressed with the quantity that we received for our money. I cannot give an accurate assessment of the quality yet, but the pork chops and the beef look tasty. We will be ordering again next month and I will recommend this to others.
—Guest daryl

Helping the budget

I volunteer to distribute Angel Food in my community. It is a big help to a lot of people. For $30 you get a box of food worth about $60, and the menu varies each month. It’s not just for lower-income families – anyone and everyone qualifies to participate. Local Angel Food host sites are listed at http://www.angelfoodministries.com/hosts.asp.
—Guest Larry

good review

We just started using angel food ministries in March 2009 and have found the food to be very good and have no complaints; in fact, we tripled our order for April and found all of the food to be of good quality. The FBI and IRS should be spending their time investigating AIG and those companies that our gov is pumping the people's money into for free, instead of this christian charity organization.
—Guest ROSA LEE

Love It

I have been using AFM since Oct 2008 I am trying to feed a family of 4 adults. Prior to using it there were many times we had no food in the house although we are all employed in some capacity. We are one of the former middle class families in America that has been hit hard by the Recession. Having AFM has been a godsend for us not only has made it easier to keep food in the house we are using the extra money we are saving in groceries each month to offset costs/expenses in other areas. There is a lot of variety with the food and it is far better than going without and worrying about how to make ends meet when trying to purchase everything at the grocery store. We do buy "extras", like milk & cereal, flour....etc still at the grocery store but we are spending far less. With the price of food increasing so drastically here in the mid west this is a tremendous savings for our family.
—SallieMay

Yes for Angel Food

My church recently started distrubiting Angel Food. I went together with a friend since I wanted only the produce box. I found the fruits and vegetables to be fresh and of good quality. I did need to share some of the fresh stuff with others but I considered this to be an opportunity, not a bad thing. I have found the program to be helpful to my church and my neighborhood since very few opportunites other than grocery stores are found in west Phoenix. Yes, if we had good farmers markets close by that might be a better deal. Since such opportunites are limited around here, especially in hot weather, I'll stick with Angel Food.
—mckn

I made HEB store price comparisons

I just placed my first order (Mar 09)and will be picking it up Mar 28. I went to a local grocery store (HEB in Texas)and priced the Angel Food menu for the month against the comparable items at the store. I looked for all the specials and store name brands by ounce and by the pound. Using that system, the menu came to 45 dollars at best,which calculates to a 50% savings. Not bad...so Im waiting now to see if quality makes a difference...
—dancrenshaw