Food available at bargain prices
As most of us know, a true bargain isn’t very easy to find these days, especially where some necessities, like food, are concerned. Anyone who has made a trip to the grocery store lately can attest to the rising cost of many food items.
Add to that the difficulty some people have in doing their own shopping. Trying to find the best prices, as well as trying to purchase a variety of items that provide a well-balanced diet, can be daunting for elderly, disabled or low-income shoppers.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could do some of their shopping for them? Someone who could negotiate the best prices from some major name-brand food companies, and provide a nutritionally balanced menu as well.
Well, such a service now exists here in Warren County. It’s called Angel Food Ministries and the local host site is Irving College Baptist Church at 8931 Beersheba Highway.
Irving College Baptist minister Paul Gunn said he found out about the ministry through his son who is on staff at Mt. Juliet First Baptist.
“They were involved and had been doing it for several months,” Gunn said, “and so we decided to give it a shot, and it snowballed.”
Gunn said he is impressed with the program.
“It’s something great,” he said. “A good means of outreach, a good means to help somebody who needs some help maybe, and good quality merchandise. I’d invite anybody to get in on it that wants to.”
Church member Sandra Scott agreed and touted the benefits Angel Food provides.
“This is just unbelievable,” Scott said. “This kind of food for $21. So I thought, well, we need to get involved in this. The pastor asked me if I would take it over and I said yes. You know how the economy is at this time, layoffs and all that. I thought this would be a good time to do this.”
Host churches get $1 per box and Scott said Irving College Baptist uses its share for church missions.
Angel Food Ministries, a non-profit organization, began in 1994 as a ministry of Emmanuel Praise Church in Monroe, Georgia, after a group there purchased $2,000 worth of groceries for employees who had lost their jobs when a mill closed.
Rev. Joseph Wingo, president of the organization, says the food isn’t a handout, and that’s an important aspect of the program.
“Pride keeps some people from going to the food bank,” Wingo said.
With Angel Food, residents pre-order a box of food with cash, money order or food stamps, and once each month it is delivered to a host site. All participants have to do is come to the host site the day of the delivery and bring a large box for the food.
Wingo said the food is indeed a bargain, allowed by the buying power the program provides.
“If you pay $21, we want to make sure there’s at least $35 or $40 worth in that box,” he said. “None of the products are dated or seconds. It’s fresh food.”
The menu is different each month and is created by Wingo’s wife, a nutritionist. “With the menu we try to meet each basic food group,” Wingo said.
The program is open to anyone and the amount of purchases by families is unlimited.
For more information, to set up an order, or for other churches who want to become a local host site, call Sandra Scott at 668-4576, work, or 668-9508, home.