Anyone struggling to put food on the table can breathe a little easier knowing that there is another resource to turn to each month.

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church of Northfield has become a host site for Angel Food Ministries—a non-denominational nonprofit dedicated to distributing boxes of food at reduced cost for those in need.

Angel Food Ministries provides food relief throughout the U.S. with its 5,000 host sites in 45 states. By buying in bulk and distributing through a volunteer system, Angel Food Ministries is able to offer boxes of food at discounted rates.

For example, individuals are able to receive about $60 worth of food for $30, which includes fresh and frozen foods. On average, one box of food represents seven meals for a family of four or about a month’s worth of meals to feed a single senior.

“It is a way to stretch one’s food budget further, which can help bridge the gap for families and individuals during this economic recession. St. Peter’s chose to start the program because we were seeing so many people in our community having a hard time making ends meet,” said Paul Graham, associate pastor at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. “We were searching for creative and effective ways to respond to the economic and financial struggles people face. We were looking for new ways to put faith into action to respond to the situation we saw around us.”

Jim Blaha, director of the Community Action Center and Donna Rae Scheffert, CAC board member and St. Peter’s congregant, introduced the idea of bringing Angel Food Ministries to Northfield.

The CAC found that the average monthly use of Northfield’s Community Food Shelf has consistently increased annually with 2,876 households using the food shelf in 2006 increasing to 4,151 households in 2009. Eligible families can use the CAC Food Shelf once per month and the Angel Food Ministries is meant to supplement that food need.

“Anyone who eats is eligible,” said Graham of the Angel Food Ministries program.

There is no limit on how many boxes of food a family may order and no restrictions on who can participate in this program.

Every month, interested families can purchase discounted boxes of food by placing an order the second Saturday of the month and picking up their orders by the third Saturday of the month at the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church located at 418 Sumner Street.

Since Angel Food began in October at St. Peter’s, growing numbers of families have turned to the service with 45 boxes of food being distributed in December, said Graham.

“[Angel Food Ministries] works well for my mom as someone who is on a fixed income offering an inexpensive way to get a well balanced diet,” says Bernadette Johnson, St. Peter’s secretary. “My mom is a widow who lives alone and the portions she gets are perfect for her. She is diabetic and this program provides her with many well-balanced meals she can afford. One box lasts about a month for her.”

“There are very tasty meals that are affordable,” added Sandy Sutlief, Johnson’s mother, of the Angel Food Ministries food.

The best way to order is by going to the Angel Food website, said Graham. Packages are ordered and prepaid online and Angel Food also accepts Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). Those interested can also call Deborah Ward, the St. Peter’s Angel Food site coordinator, at 507-581-0952.  

UPCOMING ORDER AND DISTRIBUTION DATES

Orders due by:                        Distribution:
March 20                                 March 26
April 17                                     April 23