Angel Food Ministries helps
UM churches feed needy


By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
The program has aided thousands of needy people around the Southwest Texas Conference.
Angel Food Ministries allows people to order discounted food in bulk. Many United Methodist congregations participate.
The program, based in Monroe, Ga., is open to any person, regardless of income level.
That’s often misunderstood, said Marjorie Bronk, director of the Angel Food Ministries program at First UMC, Burnet. Many members of her congregation believe that those who have high incomes cannot order from the ministry. But they can.
Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, nondenominational organization that provides grocery relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. The program began in 1994 with 34 families in Georgia and has grown to serve thousands of families every month across 32 states.
The program came to Burnet in 2005, when First UMC began to look more closely at what type of community work it could offer, Bronk said.
She had read about the Angel Food Ministries at First UMC, Marble Falls, Bronk said. She observed the church’s program and brought information back to her church leaders.
The Burnet congregation started distributing food in May 2005 and sells an average 220 to 230 units each month, Bronk said.
Orders and payments are collected by the church early each month. These orders are then turned in to the Angel Food office in Georgia. Several days later food is delivered to the church.
Church members usually purchase 300 to 500 pounds of food (five to seven units) for the local food banks each month, Bronk said.
But one of her “faithful volunteers” challenged the congregation before Christmas to donate 25 food units to LaCare, a food pantry in Burnet. In response, the church gave 1,000 pounds of food to the pantry.
“We met our goal and actually gave (LaCare) about 30 units and other donated items,” Bronk said.
The donations give LaCare recipients different and more varied food from what the food bank usually receives from grocery stores, the Austin Food Bank and other local churches, said Margaret Fry, who helps with the Burnet distribution.
“We hope it made the recipients realize that our church is a giving and caring congregation and that we want to do what we can to make their lives better,” Fry said.
But the program doesn’t simply bless the food pantries.
“We have many single moms who purchase food, and it is a saving grace for them,” Bronk said. “We have elderly who say that, through this program, they can have food and afford their medication, too.
“And I can’t begin to explain the personal blessings we get from this program. We have come to ‘know’ the individuals and share their personal needs, too.”
At First UMC, Brady, Donna Hard-castle said, “This program gives a lot to the people. We had one elderly lady come in and say, ‘This is the first time in two years I’ve been able to have meat.’ It’s reaching people who really cannot afford meat otherwise.”
Hardcastle, Brady’s Angel Food host site director, said the church’s program gets several food stamp participants—because Angel Food Ministries accepts that kind of payment.
The Brady church has had the program in place for a little more than a year, Hardcastle said, and averages about 125 units of food. The ministry serve about eight outlying towns, she added.
Six to 10 people each month in Brady buy a unit of food and donate it to the church’s food bank, Hardcastle said. A Wesley nurse at the church has a list of people who might need the extra food.
Each unit, Hardcastle said, feeds a single person for a month or a family of four for two weeks. Distribution happens once a month.
In Burnet the program requires about 70 volunteers each month, Bronk said. Her volunteers come from many Burnet-area churches and organizations.
A Boy Scout troop comes in every month to help carry boxes to vehicles, she said. The local Veterans of Foreign War women’s auxiliary helps with distribution.
A wheelchair-bound minister will typically come play the piano during distribution hours, which “helps people enjoy the process and not feel like they’re getting a handout,” Bronk said.
During distribution, she added, the Burnet church offers a free car checkup service. Some churchmen will check tire pressures, wiper blades, oil and other fluid levels.
“This has been well-received,” Bronk said.
During the winter months, the church collected and offered free coats and jackets to those who need them, she said.
“The program kind of takes on a life of its own as we learn about new and other things we can do for the community,” Bronk said. “We are planning to fund a weekend meal for the Meals on Wheels program. The money will come from the earned amount that we get from the Angel Food sales.”
Hardcastle encouraged other churches to consider adding Angel Food Ministries to their community outreach.
“It’s a good program for any church to get involved in,” she said. “It’s definitely a program that works.”
For more information about Angel Food Ministries, visit www. angelfoodministries.com.