Klowns in my Koffee

Princess Potatohead and I were on our own today since the male members of our entourage are camping and shivering at a Wisconsin Boy Scout Camp. We woke early, made our scheduled Angel Food pick-up (see below), went to the library for a family fitness fair and some reading, cleaned the house, treated ourselves to Burger King and their indoor play area, and then hit the hardware store for materials for my latest project - adding safety rails to the upper bunk bed. Later, we gardened, visited friends, and shared a nice dinner. All in all, a good day.

I mentioned Angel Food (http://www.angelfoodministries.com/) some time back. We have continued to order from them every month since I discovered them.

Angel Food is the product of a family ministry in Georgia that uses the power of volume purchasing to distribute food using a network of churches; the result is that churches earn a handling fee, consumers can buy food at reduced prices, suppliers have a market, the ministers in Georgia can feel satisfied that they are making a difference in the world, and all parties benefit. A true win-win. From a green perspective, I'd prefer to have less transport involved as we try to eat more locally, but you can't have everything.

In this month's box, there were 12 entrees and side dishes for four people for $40.95 or 85.3 cents per person per dinner.

It's actually sort of fun to come up with meal plans to "McGyver" the food even further into an extra soup, stew or stir fry or two. There is a slight sense of eating at a school cafeteria but that can be overcome since the majority of the food can be prepared in a healthful and creative way. Eating frozen carrots is not going to kill anyone. I wonder if anyone would get the joke if I put on that hairnet and slapped each item on the plates with an ice cream scoop.

The kids love picking up the food. Even though we have the menu before ordering, the kids still see this as making an exotic trip to receive a mysterious box. They pull the contents out of the carton item-by-item and examine it like the Hope Diamond. I don't completely understand the allure but I know that they've never cooed that much over a can of spaghetti sauce from Cub. I guess it's like a Christmas stocking ... with frozen corn.

If it keeps us out of restaurants and reduces trips to the grocery store, we are well ahead of the game.

The lovely lady at the church who was helping me check the order at pick-up always departs with their catchphrase, "Have a blessed day." I did and why the heck not?