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ANGEL FOOD PROGRAM IS A GODSEND

May 31, 2008 12:15 am

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Paying the grocery bill while raising a teenage son is no easy feat. Doing it while food prices rise can be a cause for panic.

But Stafford County resident Christ Serafine feeds her 15-year-old son, two younger children and herself and her spouse on little more than $30 a week. Her secret?

Her church.

Serafine runs the Angel Food Ministry at Stafford Free Will Baptist Church on Joshua Road. The program sells boxes of food for $30 each. The groceries would retail for about $65, Angel Food officials said in a press release. The Georgia-based nonprofit group can offer the food at low prices because it buys in bulk.

Serafine said customers range from those paying with food stamps to doctors and lawyers.

"It absolutely is for everybody," she said. "It puts everyone on an equal playing field. You're able to stretch your grocery dollars, and who doesn't want to save money?"

The program started in Georgia in 1994 and has spread throughout the country. There are now three locations in the Fredericksburg area. Angel Food first started at The Bridge Worship Center in Stafford in January. By April, about 60 people were ordering food through the program.

Now, more than 100 people order more than 800 boxes of food, said the Rev. Scott Brady, the church's pastor.

Serafine has seen the program's usage take off in its first month, from 20 people in April to 44 people ordering 107 boxes this month. This morning, they'll show up at church to pick up the boxes, filled with bacon-wrapped fillets, breaded chicken breasts, burritos, popcorn chicken, cereal, eggs, pizza and more.

Rising fuel and food costs "have just put a crunch on everybody, and they're being pulled from every direction," Brady said. "And we're happy to help them out in this direction."

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973
Email: aumble@freelancestar.com