SPONSOR

Thursday, 22 July 2010 7:29 P.M.

Angel Food Ministries is looking for volunteers in southeast Michigan

DETROIT -- A typical day for the people of Angel Food Ministries includes checking their emails to see if there's someone in need of food; doing marketing for the upcoming month's orders, taste-test the food, daily meetings and inventories, and go about the day helping people -- making sure that not only everything is running smoothly, but also making sure that Angel Food stays true to its humble roots as a ministry.

"We're trying to bring people back to God," according to Juda Engelmayer, director of Media, PR, and Communications, who also states that people can be afraid of Bible-thumpers and going to church. "When you come to the church to pick up your food", he continues, "there's no pressure at all."

In 1994, Angel Food Ministries was started by the Rev. Joseph Wingo and his wife Linda in Monroe, Georgia, a blue-collar mill town where people had little money, no jobs, and crime rose. "People were struggling to find food; feeding became a priority," Englemayer said.

"People were forgetting basic values: jobs, taking care of family, and going to church, so Pastors Joe and Linda spend time cutting off coupons from newspapers and buying store closeouts. They tried to give food away for free, but people have pride because they refused to admit that they need help. So they put a small fee on the boxes and people began to come."

Through positive word-of-mouth, people were going to the Wingo house, and in the first month came 34 families. At the end of the day, the Wingos saw that they had 84 cents left over, so they rounded it up to a dollar and offered every church that sent a hungry family their way a $1 donation per person. Now, at $30 a box per week, a family can feed itself well and the host sites raise needed benevolence money.

Angel Food Ministries has given 25 million boxes in food and $30 million dollars in charities with over 6,000 non-profit chapters located in 44 states -- including Michigan.

"We continue operating through box sales" Juda goes on. "We don't rely on public assistance or donations. A $1 goes to the church, and the rest goes to transportation and food for next month.

"The way our program is designed -- we're looking at feeding so many more. People who have food stamps can't pay online; they can go to church."

If interested in applying or volunteering and wanting to know more about Angel Food Ministries, go to the official website at www.angelfoodministries.com.