Religion

The image most people conjure up when considering donated food is often a far cry from appetizing — dinted cans of chicken broth, pumpkin pie filling and tomato paste that's mere days away from its expiration date.

While many depend on such donations to survive, that which is given in the name of charity is rarely top shelf. Rather it's the food few would want given the option of choice.

Not so with Angel Food Ministries.

For $30 a box, participants of the Georgia-based program can order off a monthly menu that includes everything from Salisbury steak to sliced peaches, smoked sausage to frozen waffles. And each month is different from the last

This all comes at a savings of 40 to 60 percent versus what the same items could be purchased for at a regular supermarket.

First United Methodist in Anniston is the latest of the 15 congregations in Calhoun County to serve as an order/pick-up site for this ministry that began in 1994 with pastors Joe and Linda Wingo feeding 34 families off the back porch of their home in Monroe, Ga.

Today, Angel Food Ministries feeds more than 500,000 families in 35 states.

"We're always trying to find ways to give food to those who are most in need," explains John Fuller, host site director for FUMC, Anniston. "More times than not people donate the foods they don't want — dinted cans, expiring food, but this program provides for good food at really low costs."

And it's the savings that matters most, allowing for those who save to turn around and donate those saving back to purchase boxes for those who cannot afford one on their own.

Angel Food is not just for those in need. It is open to anyone regardless of financial status. Fuller estimates that 5-10 percent of FUMC's monthly 100-plus orders are purchased not by those who need the food themselves, but instead by those who are buying it for someone else.

"Or some are buying two boxes," he says, "one is for themselves, then they'll take that savings and buy another box for some who can't afford it otherwise. This way, everyone is blessed, everyone benefits"

Early each month, a new menu is posted on the Angel Food Web site. In addition to the available foods, participants can then order from a number of "specialty" menus that include large amounts of fruits, meat or vegetables. Orders are taken at delivery sites during the first part of each month with payments due when orders are placed. Then at the end of each month, Angel Food volunteers meet at various distribution sites, where they are greeted by a large refrigerated truck packed with food.

Last Saturday, Fuller and his 20-plus volunteers gathered at DeArmanville United Methodist Church at 6 in the morning. For the next hour, they loaded hundreds of pounds worth of food into a pick-up truck and a van. Once back in Anniston they began packing the boxes assembly line style and handing out the 130 or so orders to each customer.

The reaction to the packages was virtually the same.

"People really couldn't believe they were getting all that food for only 30 bucks," says FUMC Angel Food volunteer Michelle Rollins. "It's really amazing."

And Rollins should know. She's been ordering through Angel Food since April of 2007, long before the Methodist church in Anniston began participating. Last month, she bought the regular package plus two specialty meat packages for a total of $68.

"That food fed five people in my family for a month," she says. "Now that's getting your money's worth."

Rollins compared that to Wal-Mart, where she works and says the same amount of food she got through Angel Food would have cost her more than $180 at Wal-Mart.

"You can't beat that," she says with a proud laugh. "It's almost too good to be true … but it's not."

For more information:

For menus, order and delivery dates for Angel Food Ministries, call Anniston First United Methodist Church at 236-5605.

Links:

• Angel Food Ministries: www.angelfoodministries.com

• First United Methodist Church: www.FUMC-anniston.org