RIPLEY — Angel Food Ministries held a food distribution at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ripley Oct. 24.

Angel Food Ministries was founded in Monroe, Ga. in 1994 when Pastors Joe and Linda Wingo, wishing to provide aid to residents of the city who were affected by recent industrial plant closures, distributed food to 34 families from their back porch. Today, the organization feeds over half a million families a month in 35 states.

Angel Food purchases food in bulk a year in advance at wholesale prices. This allows the organization to provide a substantial amount of food at a discount rate; the various items in a box of Angel Food would normally cost about $65 if bought in a typical grocery store, but can be obtained from the ministry for only $30–less than half the retail price. Specialty boxes are also available each month; November, for example, offers a Thanksgiving package that includes a 7-pound roasting turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, cornbread stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and dessert all for $30.

All of the food supplied by Angel Food is of “restaurant grade” and is acquired from quality, name-brand vendors; no old or leftover food is used. There are no applications to fill out and no restrictions or income limits on purchases, meaning that anyone who wants food can buy it from the ministry.

“If you eat, you qualify,” said volunteer Judy Sheets, who was supervising the distribution.

Phil McNemar, Host Site Director for the Angel Food program at Memorial United Methodist Church in Spencer, said that everyone working at the event that evening was volunteering their time and effort.

“There is no one being paid in this building to do this,” McNemar said. “I think they’re doing a phenomenal job here tonight. They’ve really gotten behind the whole program.”

McNemar said that his church in Spencer had been working with Angel Food for almost four years; Sheets said that tonight was the first food distribution ever conducted at St. John’s, and that she had been working to bring the program there for six years.

“We had a lot of people from Ripley and Ravenswood going to Spencer to get this stuff,” Sheets said.

By the end of the night, volunteers had delivered 2,400 pounds of food to 71 families. Any food that was not picked up will be donated to St. John’s food pantry, which serves as an emergency food supply for people in need, such as those who are new to the area, have lost their jobs, or are unemployed.

“We are here to help those people until their income picks up,” Sheets said. “We are desperately needing donations [for the pantry], either money or items.”

Sheets said that the pantry is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but warned that it should not be abused by people who only want free food.
“We are not Kroger,” she said.

After the distribution was over, McNemar congratulated volunteers on a job well done.

“Tonight, every one of you became a minister,” he said. “Every time someone stepped in front of you, you became a minister to their needs.”

Sheets said that with the success of the event, future distributions would be held at the church on a monthly basis.

“This is a continual thing,” she said.

“This is the beginning of a good thing,” McNemar agreed. “Actually, it’s the beginning of a great thing in Jackson County.”

Order forms for the November 2008 Angel Food Ministries food distribution can be picked up at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 100 Main St. in Ripley, adjacent to Kroger. The deadline for orders is Nov. 10; food will be delivered to St. John’s and available for pickup Nov. 21 from 5-6:30 p.m. Readers who have questions about the distribution or would like to place an order may call the Angel Food Order Desk at (304) 372-6443; if you would like to make a donation to the food pantry, please call St. John’s at (304) 372-9183.

For more information about Angel Food Ministries, visit www.angelfoodministries.com.

story by Stephen Hill (shill@jccitizen.com)

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