The Frugal Homeschooler - My first experience with Angel Food Ministries

• Mar. 19, 2008
My first experience with Angel Food Ministries

Last week I posted that I was going to pick up my first Angel Food box on Saturday. For those of you not familiar with it, I will quickly explain.

Angel Food MInistries http://www.angelfoodministries.com/default.asp is a program that allows anyone to purchase a box of food at a low price. There are no qualifications for purchase. Food stamps are also accepted. Many sites also take online orders through PayPal, which was how I did it.

There are also "special boxes" which include more expensive or gourmet cuts of meat, chicken, etc. at a reduced price. A regular box must be purchased first before a special box can be ordered. You can order as many boxes as you want.

The price of a box is $30. They said in their web site it was probably worth about $42 - 78 depending on where you live. I estimated I could probably buy equivalent items for about $40-50 dollars, if I shopped carefully. I could buy the meat alone for $30 in town, if I bought it on sale or comparison shopped.

This was the regular box menu we purchased:

March 2008

(1) 1.5 lb. Top Sirloin Roast (1) 16 oz. Frozen Mixed Vegetables

(1) 2 lb. IQF Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (1) 16 oz. Frozen Green Beans

(1) 1.5 lb. Boneless Pork Fillet (1) 10 ct. Waffles

(1) 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Breast Strips (1) 32 oz. Borden Shelf-Stable Milk

(1) 1.5 lb. Boxed Lean Beef Patties (1) 16 oz. Blue Bonnet Margarine

(1) 4 lb. IQF Chicken Leg Quarters (1) 15 oz. Pork and Beans

(1) 16 oz. All Meat Bologna (1) 15 oz. Marie Callender’s Soup

(1) 16 oz. Ground Turkey (1) 7.5 oz. Macaroni and Cheese

(1) 24 oz. Steak-Cut French Fries
(1) Dessert Item (coconut meringue pie)

I persuaded my DH to come with me because I ordered two boxes. My close friend/neighbor Tina also wanted to try a box so I bought one for her also.

The only thing I didn't like was it was a little confusing which door to enter. Our distribution center is at a large Methodist church with a huge fellowship hall. We had not idea where to go, there were no signs saying go this way or check in over there, until you actually walked in a room with two tables with itty bitty signs, one for reordering and one for check-in. I shouldn't be so negative, it's just that I'm a creature of habit and sometimes new things make me uncomfortable.

So we ended up walking in on the opposite side of the building. But we made it, checked in and waited in line. If you decide to go, everything fits in a large egg box. You are supposed to bring your own box. Tina works at a restaurant and got me an egg box and a couple smaller ones. I kept her egg box and ditched the smaller ones for one of Angel Food's egg boxes, they had sitting by the door.

When you check in, you are handed a card with your name on it and the amount of orders you bought, plus the type. At this site, it was pretty much assembly line fashion: you slid your box down a row of tables. There was one person per food item passing it out. We were in and out in 15 minutes and that was even after waiting in line a few minutes.

The food was name brand, high quality stuff. Nothing was expired. I recommend if you have more than four in your family and want to try it out, to order two boxes, because if you see the amounts of meat, they probably won't work if you follow the standard rule of 4 ounces of meat per person.

But I will most likely do it again. Next month's menu -- mainly Mexican and Italian items. :)

April Angel Food Menu

2 lb. Fully Cooked Meatloaf
1 lb. Beef Fajita Strips
3 lb. Breaded Frying Chicken
2 lb. St. Louis Style Ribs
2 lb. Lasagna Dinner Entree
1 lb. Gourmet Sausage
1 lb. Fully Cooked Meatballs
16 oz. Broccoli
15 oz. Refried Beans
12 ct. Tortillas
26 oz. Pasta Sauce
16 oz. Pasta
6 oz. Pancake Mix
16 oz. Fresh Carrots
3 lb. Golden Yukon Potatoes
4 oz. Chicken Noodle Soup (Makes 64 oz.)
4 lb. California Oranges
Dessert Item

Oh, one more thing. If you happen to not pick your box, you forfeit it and do not get a refund. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. So make sure you show up! :)

(Post A Comment!)

Comments

Entry 14 of 26
Last Page • Next Page

March 2008
(1) 1.5 lb. Top Sirloin Roast	(1) 16 oz. Frozen Mixed Vegetables
(1) 2 lb. IQF Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast	(1) 16 oz. Frozen Green Beans
(1) 1.5 lb. Boneless Pork Fillet	(1) 10 ct. Waffles
(1) 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Breast Strips	(1) 32 oz. Borden Shelf-Stable Milk
(1) 1.5 lb. Boxed Lean Beef Patties	(1) 16 oz. Blue Bonnet Margarine
(1) 4 lb. IQF Chicken Leg Quarters	(1) 15 oz. Pork and Beans
(1) 16 oz. All Meat Bologna	(1) 15 oz. Marie Callender’s Soup
(1) 16 oz. Ground Turkey	(1) 7.5 oz. Macaroni and Cheese
(1) 24 oz. Steak-Cut French Fries	(1) Dessert Item (coconut meringue pie)