Angel Food Ministries provides low cost food nationwide through host sites around the U.S.
Rectangular tables had been erected and confined against a wooden wall, yet in the deserted church hall, Eve Virginia filled the vacancy with her echoing voice.
Three years ago, Virginia, 44, of East Stroudsburg gave citizens an opportunity for better living. All the while being a full-time mother, babysitter, and volunteer for the church, she devotes her free time to making Angel Food Ministries a span of progress.
AFM is a low cost, non-profit, organization that began in Monroe, Georgia and distributes food to 44 states, including Middle Smithfield Presbyterian Church in East Stroudsburg, Pa. Individuals are able to buy online or come to the church and pick up their food. AFM supplies a new menu and has a regular menu as well as specials for that month.
“With so many people losing their homes, and the elderly having to make a choice between medicines or food for the month,” Virginia said, “this program gives them the resources so that they don’t have those limitations.” Arranged on the AFM website are recipes, gift cards, instructions on how to become a host, and a great deal more.
“Throughout the year, we’ve been taking food to a needy family. In April my trunk was full and topped off with an Easter Dinner box and three Easter baskets. When I got to the house there was no answer at the door. Vehicles were in the driveway, so I began unloading the food on the porch. Two precious eyes were peeking through the blinds watching me. I waved and smiled each time I carried a box. When done, I waved again and left. Later, a message from the mom explained that after three sleepless nights due to severe pain from surgery, she and her husband had collapsed into deep sleep just before I arrived. When they awoke, their daughter rushed to say, ‘Mommy, daddy! An angel came to our house, a lady angel!’
“I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but never an angel! It made me cry,” wrote L.H, a host site director, on a page dedicated to stories from families that have received the food from AFM.
Furthermore this program accepts food stamps in place of money; this enables a wider range of citizens able to order food. Before Virginia pushed for the start of AFM at Smithfield, she confided her time to volunteering at the church where she would do the slide shows for services, praises, and worships for over two years. Volunteers range from 10 to 13 people, and anyone wanting to participate can call the AFM hotline. “They can help with setup, distribution, clean up,” Virginia said and she looked over at the empty tables, “and there is no need for them to feel obligated to stay the whole time.” Virginia and volunteers pick up the food at the distribution point in a Milford church.
She spreads the word about AFM to her friends and families. “From Monroe County to New Jersey, anyone can buy this food,” Virginia said, “and the food isn’t seconds.” Prices start from $20 and increase to $35; the food that people are able to buy include eggs, pizza, pork chops, steak, mozzarella sticks, a seafood variety, and much more.
Although she spends a lot of time volunteering to make awareness of this program and making sure people have this opportunity, she opens her heart to others. In her free time, Virginia takes her son John, who has angelman syndrome, to speech classes at East Stroudsburg University.
“I found out when he was two years old he had angelman syndrome,” Virginia said as she went in for a hug from the two year old she baby-sits. “He is an amazing child and loves his therapists at ESU.”
Virginia said she volunteers for the good of her community and takes care of young children that manage to always capture her heart. In the near future, she will be moving to Mass. and will be handing down her title at Smithfield for AFM director. For the time being, every third Saturday of the month the rectangular tables will support the frozen and fresh foods, with Virginia standing by to help those in need.
For more information about Angel Food Ministries, to find order and delivery dates for food, go to the main website and search by Zipcode for the Middle Smithfield Presbyterian Church Angel Food program.
Nykki Foy is a junior at East Stroudsburg University and an English major in the professional writing track. She is from Madison Township, Pa. Foy wrote the column The Scoundrel for The Outlook at Luzerne County Community College and has also written for the Scranton Times Tribune. An avid lover of Joel Stein’s column in the Times, Foy pursues her career hoping to follow in his footsteps. Her goal is to move to New York and work at a major magazine.
