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A few months ago, I read a comment posted in your newsletter about Angel Food Ministries. This is a program designed to give grocery relief to people, regardless of their circumstances.When people ask about what they can do to save money, or need information/suggestions on how to make ends meet, posting a link to their website would be a good idea (AngelFoodMinistries.com). There is no requirement to attend the church that is being used as a distribution site. This is a service provided by some wonderful people who know how hard it can be to make ends meet, regardless if you attend a church or not.
For $30, you can purchase a week's worth of food for a family for four (minus bread, milk, and veggies/fruit). For a single, this amounts to almost a month's worth of food. Each unit contains meat, peanut butter, eggs, a dessert item, and breakfast items. Often, there are canned or dried beans, rice, and canned fruit/veggies. (The monthly "menu" of what is in a base package is available at the website).
There are also special packages you can add on that contain enough meat to cover you for several more weeks at $18 each.
The same food, even the cheapest, generic, on sale items, typically would cost between $50 to $75 in a grocery store (and more in my area). You save over 50% on your food from the very start.
My husband and I purchase a base unit and two special packages (usually a beef and chicken special) every month. It costs us $71. I then stock up on frozen bags of veggies when they go on sale ($1 each), canned or fresh depending on what time of year it is (this could be even cheaper if you have your own garden). To get enough veggies for a month, it can cost between $20 to $30. With the occasional bread purchase (two loaves a week for lunches at about $10 a month), milk (expensive at $5 a week), and fresh fruit or frozen fruit in bags on sale, we have been spending roughly $131 on food every month. That is incredible for a family of four. I also buy bulk supplies to make items to include in lunches for school and work, usually once every few months.
To whomever posted that information, I am forever grateful. As far as I am concerned, if you have a distribution site in your area, you should definitely take advantage of what is offered. Not just for yourself, but for anyone you can think of who could use the grocery relief provided. This is great for seniors, parents, college students, and those wanting to buy food to donate to charities that take perishable food items.
I also plan our meals around whatever I am getting for the month (and I know several weeks in advance what I will be getting, since it's different every month and you purchase your food about two weeks in advance of the delivery date). It makes "What's for dinner" a very easy question to answer. Since there are whole foods as well as easy-to-prepare dinners, it really makes my life easier on days we have activities scheduled. This would be a real boon to a single mom!
"My Story" is a regular feature of The Dollar Stretcher. If you have a story that could help save time or money, please send it by MyStory@stretcher.com
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