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An Angel On Your Side

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Food that fills a medium-size box — considered sufficient to assist in feeding a family of four for a week or a single senior citizen for nearly a month — costs . The contents have an average retail value of about , the ministry says.

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By GEORGE WILKENS

gwilkens@tampatrib.com

Published: February 18, 2009

SPRINGHEAD - A local church is offering a helping hand in tough economic times.

Springhead Baptist Church, 3106 S. Wiggins Road, is offering discount groceries through Angel Food Ministries, a nonprofit, nondenominational organization providing "grocery relief" to communities in 35 states.

Pastor Chuck Edmondson spearheaded the effort to bring the program to Springhead Baptist, saying Angel Food Ministries can assist everyone affected by the rising cost of groceries.

"There are people out here struggling who don't qualify for food assistance," Edmondson said. "Those of us just struggling in our economy, this is a blessing to us." And, he adds, "It's not a handout, but a hand up." That's because the program requires participants to pay a sum equal to about half the value of the food provided monthly. Everyone qualifies; there are no applications, limits or restrictions.

Angel Food Ministries works like this: Food that fills a medium-size box - considered sufficient to assist in feeding a family of four for a week or a single senior citizen for nearly a month - costs $30.

The contents have an average retail value of about $60, the ministry said.

Menus, which change monthly and can be viewed on the Angel Food Web site, include fresh, frozen and packaged food purchased directly from the nation's leading suppliers.

Specialty boxes - beef, chicken or fruits and vegetables - are available for $20 to $22 additional when purchased with that month's regular box. Convenience boxes, featuring the contents for 10 heat-and-serve meals ideal for seniors or people on the go, are available for $28.

There is no limit on the number of boxes, but all must be ordered and paid for in advance. The church accepts cash, money orders or food stamps. The order cutoff date for the next delivery is usually the 12th or 13th of each month.

Distribution is at the church from 9 to 11 a.m. the last Saturday monthly.

To make it all possible, Springhead Baptist volunteers travel to Bartow at 5:30 a.m. monthly to meet the tractor-trailer rig that trucks the food from Angel Food Ministries' Georgia warehouse. Other volunteers wait at the church to separate the bulk food once it arrives.

"It is fast-paced," Edmondson said of the early morning work by about 40 volunteers, including members of the youth group who carry food to the vehicles of those needing assistance.

Word of mouth alone has brought remarkable results in a short time, with November's distribution totaling 166 boxes of food. December and January figures were down, but church officials attribute it to the busy holiday season. Should the number reach 500 boxes, the Angel Food Ministries truck will start making deliveries to Springhead Baptist, eliminating the local volunteers' early morning drive to Bartow.

Although Angel Food Ministries has dozens of host churches in the Tampa Bay area, Springhead Baptist is the closest for many people, drawing residents from as far as Zephyrhills. "We're the only ones in Plant City right now," said Edmondson, who came to Springhead two years ago and was familiar with Angel Food Ministries from his previous post in Boone, N.C.

Angel Food has many host churches in North Carolina, "And it started to grow rapidly across the country," now operating in 35 states, Edmondson said.

Pastors Joe and Linda Wingo founded the organization in 1994 to help the many Monroe, Ga., families affected by the closing of a large industrial plant there. What began with feeding 34 families on their porch grew as other Southeastern churches got involved. Angel Food feeds more than 500,000 families monthly, according to www.angelfood ministries.com.

Connie Hopkins, a Plant City native and Springhead Baptist member, has been the church's distribution director since the local effort was launched.

"From everything we've heard, everybody likes the food; it's a positive thing," with many return customers, she said. In addition to church members and others who place monthly orders, some buy every other month and others buy to help out relatives, added Hopkins, whose sister, Kathy Paul, assists by coordinating volunteers for the Saturday morning distributions.

Word of the local church's participation in Angel Food Ministries has spread through various methods, including the organization's Web site, so orders have generally increased monthly, Hopkins said. "We have people that call all the time," inquiring about the program, she added.

Hopkins said Springhead Baptist has sufficient space to provide for expansion of the program.

Edmonson said the ministry is a good fit for the church's mission to help the community.

"This just helps so many people," Edmondson said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Angel Food Ministries

WHERE: Springhead Baptist Church, 3106 S. Wiggins Road, Plant City

WHEN: Orders accepted 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and 6 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; distribution 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., fourth Saturday monthly

TELEPHONE: (813) 752-4879

WEB SITE: www.angelfood ministries.com

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433.

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