Angel Food Ministries offers low-cost food for families

Angel Food Ministries offers low-cost food for families

By JILL MCNEAL
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Wondering how you can keep feeding your family on an ever-tightening budget? Consider Angel Food Ministries.

The non-profit organization, based in Georgia, buys food in bulk and then sells it at cost through churches across the country.

The box Angel Food families got in January for just $30 contains everything from steak and chicken to pasta and oatmeal. It's designed to feed a family of four for an entire week. 

"It's about $60 worth of food, maybe more now," says Linda Comer, who has been overseeing the Angel Food program since it started at Bookwalter United Methodist Church less than two years ago.

"It has just mushroomed from 33 orders in 2007 to over 200 now per month," Comer says.

She noticed the demand increase starting back in September. "We have new people every month. My phone rings all the time."

"A lot of the people do have jobs, but they just can't make it with the economy like it is," says Pastor David Lord.

He has seen what this one box can mean to a struggling family.

"People are saying well, I wasn't sure this month whether I would get groceries or get my prescriptions. Or I couldn't decide whether to get prescriptions or fill the tank on the car. So they say that Angel Food gave them a wider choice," Pastor Lord says.

"So many people think this is charity. It is not charity. It is an opportunity to buy food at a reasonable price in order to make the rest of your money go further," Comer says.

Many churches distribute Angel Food. There are 18 sites just in Knoxville alone. To see the full list, click here.

There are no income guidelines to meet and no applications to fill out.

The deadline for next month's food orders is February 16 at 2:00 p.m.

You can pay online, through the mail or directly at any distribution site.