If any of you are worried about a senior parent or grandparent who is on their own eating right, you might opt for the Golden Cuisine. Of course, it won’t feed them for a month, but it is great for when they are not up to cooking.

This month I am trying the Bread of Life signature box for 35 and adding a 10 lb popcorn chicken for 16 bucks. And, if it works out I may opt to get rid of my big freezer and just live on a box of food a month from them and add fresh fruit and bread as needed.

The frozen veggies have all been good (better than canned). I am kind of having fun figuring out how to use the foods and it kind of changes the menu from what we usually do, which is good. We are supplementing the box with fruits and veggies from the store, as well as having to still get other things for lunches (we often have to eat away from home where no microwave is available — like for school lunch which is $3.50/lunch in elementary school and days where we go to museums or parks).
We (a family of 4) are spending about $20 additional per week in groceries (on things like juice boxes for the lunches, cheese, hot dog buns and veggies).
So for 2 weeks, we averaged $45/week on food (including the AFM box over 2 weeks) and still have 1.5 lbs pork chops, 3/4 lbs. NY strip steak, 2.5 lbs split chicken breasts, 1 bag of waffle fries, 1 lbs of hot dogs, 1 lbs of green beans, and rice left. So we’ll probably not have to buy any meat (other than what we do in lunches) this month and will continue to save.

I’m also finding that it is helping me grow as a cook. I was a recipe cook, and now I’m finding that I am using a recipe and then just making all kinds of substitutions (and they are working out).

Breakdown of Angle food Vs grocery store prices

chicken 7 lbs Walmart 6.5
pork 3 lbs Walmart 5.84
potatos 4.5 lbs Walmart 2.5
green beans 2 lbs Kroger 2.5
corn cobbets 1 ct Kroger 2.98
corn bread stuffing 1 pkg Walmart 0.88
gravy 1 pkg Walmart 0.55
whole wheat rolls 12 ct Walmart 2.5
apple pie 1 Walmart 4.5
Total 28.75

the Quailty of meat from angel food is very bad. odd looks, tastes, and shapes, Obviously not top quality as Angel food claims, But seconds and scraps.

Not to mention the financial scandels regarding angelfood/

Breakdown:

chicken 7lbs Walmart 6.50
pork Roast 3lbs Walmart 5.84
Baking potatos 4.5lbs Walmart 2.50
Green Beans 2 lbs Kroger 2.50 ( 2×1.25)
corn Cobletts 12 ct Kroger 2.98
stuffing mix 1 pkg

breakdown:
Chicken: 7 lbs walmart 6.50
Pork roast 3 lbs Walmart 5.84
baking potatos 4.5 lbs

Also, I’ve never been pressured to join the church where I pick up the food, but I’m sure they would welcome us. The church where the food is distributed is Methodist, but other Christian churches in the area send volunteers over to help with the food distribution. They do a very good job, and everyone is helpful and friendly.

The meat has been great and high quality. My only issue was a chicken noodle casserole frozen meal. It was good, just a little bland. Very fixable with some extra spices….and a little salt!

I would say this: If you are very picky and like to prepare a lot of stuff from scratch, this may not be the program for you. And that is fine. If you don’t mind some frozen prepared items and need to stretch your dollar, give this program a try. I would also suggest having a lot of freezer space available as a lot of stuff is frozen.

When you go to pick up your order you can expect to check in, get your number then proceed to an area where the boxes are prepared. There a lot of “runners” who will walk you through the process. All were SO FRIENDLY and nice – can’t say enough about them. At my pickup place there was a “swap” place to put any items you don’t want so others can use them.

Please be aware that Angel Food is a co-op, not a straight up food bank so you are NOT taking food from others who may need it more. You are simply purchasing overstocks to help you supplement your budget.

Between this and Aldi’s I have saved SIGNIFICANT dollars on my food budget.

These are NOT the same items I would pick up at the regular grocery store and my 6 year old son (a veyr picky eater) keeps saying, day after day, “Thank you for Angel Food, Mommy!”

Not everything is “perfect” but it’s all been edible and really, *** I don’t have time to do all couponing and the driving around to 5 different stores to match all the right sales with all the right coupons, with all the right menu planning. I am a single, work-at-home, homeschooling mom with a family who have lives to live. I tried the menu planning based on sales when I lived in a city with everything accessible – it didn’t work then – and it sure won’t work now where we have limited options and even less time. I applaud those who have the time – I’ll pay you to do my shopping for me!

I appreciate Angel Food for the encouraged variety (we’d eat yogurt smoothies, pbj, ice cream and pizza every day if I gave into basic inclinations ), as well as the convenience of just pick it up and go.

Now, I personally cannot have high fructose corn syrup, so those items are either eaten by my son or gifted to friends. But that’s not much in each box.

I don’t have to go to the store and hunt everything down (I never find everything on my grocery list as it is – AND the longer we’re in the store, and the more stores we go to, the more we purchase things we don’t need) – instead, I can go in TO ONE STORE with a much shorter list (smoothie ingredients and ice cream! as well as the ingredients for everything we home-make (all baked goods are home-made, as well as cranberry sauces and the like – no HFCS that way)), get out quickly before we splurge on anything – and spend our time baking, with family and running my online business.

I also wonder how much things have improved in recent times. Almost all the “bad” reviews seem to be from 2009 and earlier – and here it is at the end of 2010.

I like it; I’m happy with it; there are some processed things I’d rather not see, but most of it is fine as an occassional treat.

CAVEAT: We don’t buy the steak boxes so I can’t review them. Did I mention I’m a single, work-at-home, homeschooling mom without child support or state assistance? We don’t get the steak box.

I hope you will give them a chance. I know I will be buying more in the future!

Pancake mix cheaper if you buy flour and stir in a little baking powder and powdered milk!

I know kids eat that stuff, but you can do much better in a regularly grocery store. Get a huge bag of tator tots for cheap! Stir instant pudding into real milk. You can probably do so much better on even the cheap mac n cheese in the grocery!

The kids like their pudding in the cutesy cups, right?

That’s all chemicalized convenience foods, and it’s not the best stuff for the kids.

Churches should not be pressuring you to join either! This should be equal opportunity and nondiscriminatory.

I was somewhat apprehensive about AFM. My experience with “Christian Based” food programs had been extremely negative, condescending and guilt ridden. I was THRILLED with the AFM program, church distribution AND quality of food. There has been nothing in any of our boxes that was “inedible”

Maybe my perspective is just a little different. I live in a farming community – 20 miles from a “real” grocery store – and my son and I were without food. I feel it was a blessing to find AFM and will continue to purchase from them.

Not to be picky but I felt that the quality of the items left quite a bit to be desired. I am more than POSITIVE that I have seen most of this stuff, including the meat, at the .99 Only Stores. My stomach churned when I looked at the cuts of meat, the boxed goods and such. The only thing that looks edible are the eggs. I have decided to pack up the $50 worth of food and donate it to my neighbor who thought everything looked great. I have colitis at the age of 32 and I felt everything bubble up when I ate the pizza and was curled up sick the entire weekend as my digestive track went in to revolt.

I feel that I can get GREAT quality and healthier groceries at Trader Joe’s, Bountiful Baskets Co-Op and Kroger for a few dollars more and feel much better about mine and my daughter’s health.

My other issue was that I felt I couldn’t LEAVE the site without the volunteers pressuring for me and my daughter to join their church and I feel that is extremely innapropriate. I do understand that the actions are not meant to be malicious and their intent is in the right place but also offering my child candy is a BAD BAD thing. She is diabetic and I wish they would ask ME before asking my child. I know they meant no harm but still……

Angel Food Ministries has a great concept. It just doesn’t work for us but I know it works for others but I will definitely NEVER order again.

I like the fact the menu is a bit different each month. I also like the time saving value of knowing what I will be getting, have it paid for and not have to use up time in the grocery store on the day I pick up my pre boxed food order.

We ordered a Signature Box ($30), a 7 lb Premium Meat Grilling Box ($23), and the Produce Box ($22). I priced out the boxes at my local Kroger’s (Houston, TX) and found out that the Signature Box is by far the best deal – saved us about $12 over Kroger’s when compared to comparable off-brand items. Everything came as described and the produce was fresh and unbruised. The hamburger patties made good burgers. The fruit has been yummy (apples and oranges). The potatoes and carrots tasted great in a stew I made yesterday. The little dinner rolls are really good too. We’re having the rib-eyes tomorrow.

My husband and I ate out at restaurants and fast food joints 3-5 nights a week before trying out AFM, so we were just hoping for better than what we were eating anyway. We are happy so far and will have cut our food budget to about $350 this month instead of our normal $600. My husband and I were trying to find something to motivate us to cook at home more often and the grab-bag mentality of AFM works for me.

February 2010’s AFM Signature Box looks even better than January’s – saving us about $15 over Kroger’s. We will probably be ordering a couple of those this time around, if the meat we try this week is good, and will be ignoring the other types of boxes since I can get almost the same prices on produce locally.

Hope this helps!

Our chicken patties are horrible tasting. I found bits of bone and a claw? in one of my patties. Plus 18 grams of fat in one patty??? The roast beef we just did in the crock pot tastes so processed it’s not even worth eating. We won’t be trying it again.

My wife and I are very frugal when it comes to shopping, meaning we only buy sale items and ALWAYS have coupons. We can beat these prices.

If a family has fallen on hard times such as a job loss or something, I think they can do better by clipping coupons and buying only the necessities.

We found the cost and quality to meet our expectations and quite honestly look forward to continuing our monthly orders in 2010 . Our economic situation has improved and we are finding that costs at the grocery stores have come down however we find that angle food still offers a good product at a reasonable cost and will continue to depend on their service

I agree that by couponing extensively and sale shopping, I could probably match it, but I work two jobs and don’t have that much time. I also have a college student son living away from home, who likes having the food there (and I know that he has some real food..lol).

It is not gourmet top of the line food in all instances, but if I could afford that, I would not be buying from AF … I recommend trying it and seeing if you like it.