We ordered some food from Angel Food Ministries last month and I thought it was a good deal. For $30 we got about $60 in groceries. It is a frugal way to buy groceries. With shrewd shopping and good use of coupons you could probably match this savings but it is a lot easier to just order a box of food. It was also convenient. We just went to the pickup spot and they loaded the box of food in our car. It was much faster than grocery shopping.
If you are not familiar with Angel Food Ministries they are a non-profit that distributes low cost food to thousands of people every month. Although they are distributing low cost food they make it clear that this is for people of all incomes. They have several packages of food you can buy but we just got the signature box. The menu changes every month but the foods you get are pretty similar every month. Here is this month’s menu. This wasn’t really a good deal for me when I was single since you can’t choose what goes in the signature box and it always included several foods I don’t eat. Now that I am part of a bigger family though there is always someone who likes everything.
Although I have only tried Angel Food there are several other similar programs. Some of them are:
Prairie Land Food
SHARE Colorado
Food For All
If any of you have tried any of these programs I would like to know what you think of them. Are they a good deal or not?
I checked this a few years ago and it wasn’t in my town yet.
Checked it today and found 3 distribution spots. But then I looked at the menu and decided I could do better on my own. I don’t usually eat meatloaf or cabbage. It would work better for me if I had kids I think.
Yeah, it helps to have more people so that someone will eat the stuff you won’t eat. It didn’t work for me as a single either.
We’ve done Share Colorado off and on for probably a few decades. I’m not on the program right now, but have thought about starting up again. The struggle is that there are items that are not always that healthy…like weird mystery meat breaded chicken tenders. A fair amount of the prepared food, I would not purchase in the first place, though I can almost always make good use of it. On the produce level, too, they often include red delicious apples — which look gorgeous and taste mushy. Bleah.
On the plus side, the food is an incredible deal — especially for the produce, and especially in winter, when the prices are skyhigh around here for celery, oranges and such. (I’d still stay away from those apples.) The holiday packages, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving, are especially good. And there are even reasonably-priced packages meant to share with food pantries or needy friends.
Share Colorado also occasionally has warehouse sales that are fantastic. One included a “$$ for a box” sale of everything you could fit in, for one basic price. Boy, did we make that box squeak!
The weird, unhealthy items they include are probably still healthier than my typical fast food diet. Glad to hear that Share Colorado is a good deal.
Oh…and Andy, thank you for the New Yorker calendar book. My daughter will love it for her August birthday!
You are welcome. Hope your daughter likes it.
Great tips. I’ve been doing these as well.. With everything so expensive right now, we want to save as much as we can, right? especially with groceries, gas and clothing…
I started couponing about a year ago. I can get most non-perishables for very cheap or free if I work the deals right. I haven’t had much luck with fresh veggies and fruits though, so this might be a good alternative.
They don’t really have fruits or veggies either. I quit doing them a long time ago since I like to choose my own food and there was always a couple things included that I didn’t like.