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Angel Food Network program stretches particpants' grocery budget
As the cost of food goes up and the economy goes south, more people are looking for ways to stretch their grocery money. A new alternative for doing that has come to Warrenton.Angel Food Network, a national non-profit organization based in Georgia, has an agreement with several grocery distributors to make food available at cost to program participants.
Available to anyone and offered with no income qualifications, the program provides the basics for a week's worth of dinner for a family of four, explained Jonathan Butler, an Angel Food Network volunteer who launched a Warrenton location in November.
The basic box, costing $30, offers 16-18 items, including frozen meat, vegetables, and staples like rice, macaroni and eggs, Butler said, adding that participants can also purchase additional items, such as boxes of frozen steak and chicken or fresh fruits and vegetables, at reduced rates.
“These are not second-hand or items nearing expiration. It's not a bunch of dried stuff,” he said. “Our family takes advantage of it most months. It's a relief in the cost of food for your family. This is usable, quality stuff.”
Butler said that he learned about the program through his church, Christ Chapel of the Mountaintop in Manassas, where he is a staff pastor. A Warrenton resident, Butler said that he became aware of several families that were making the drive into Manassas from Fauquier County to pick up food.
Expanding the program to the area also made since because Christ Chapel plans to open a new Assembly of God Church in Fauquier County in January 2010. Slated to meet at Kettle Run High School, the new church will focus on community service, said Butler, who will be its lead pastor.
“We wanted to create a church were people are involved in the community, less focused on the ritual and routine of being in church,” Butler said. “We want to focus on what God wants us to do, meeting people's needs and being involved in the life of the community. We wanted to start that from the very beginning, even before we launch formal services.”
About 30-40 Fauquier area families are currently participating in the Angel Food Network program, Butler said, noting that local volunteers have not yet advertised the opportunity. “Mostly, we wanted to get ourselves organized,” he said.
Now, however, the group is ready to grow. Participants must sign up and pay for the food about a week before distribution day, Butler said. The deadline for next month's order is March 15, with delivery set for March 21.
On distribution day, volunteers pick up the food and compile boxes for participants, which are typically available for pick up at the Warrenton Community Center. In February, and a few other times a year, the community center was unavailable and pick-up was held at Brumfield Elementary School.
The Warrenton distribution site is one of several new locations opened in recent months. From only 20 locations in Virginia at the beginning of 2008, the program has grown to more than 90 locations statewide, adding new sites in Stafford, Woodbridge, Nokesville, Manassas, Sterling, and Fairfax.
Total volume in the state has grown 10 times since the beginning of 2008, said David Mills, state outreach director for Angel Food. The program is able to meet such demand thanks to thousands of volunteers and “the massive scale of Angel Food purchasing,” Mills added.
“The need for real help with food is obvious in all of our local Northern Virgina communities, and it is not just with those who have traditionally needed assistance. Now we find that it is growing with families and working people just trying to keep food on their table,” Mills said.
“This food is really making a difference,” Butler said. “It comes in when the two ends of the budget can't be stretched far enough to provide good nutrition, and what people get is really quality food with lots of meat.”
For more information, visit www.angelfoodva.org or contact Butler at (540) 280-3921.
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