Angel Food Project
thelohm.org
Eliminating
Poverty
Starts
with Food Security
THE IMPACT
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Bags of Groceries Delivered0
Justice-Impacted Families Served0%
Outreach is to familieswith children
The Angel Food Project's mission is to connect free healthy food to formerly incarcerated people and their families. To address that need, AFP connects the impacted community with healthy groceries from local providers.
Currently operating in New York City, a place that makes up for over 18% of all the food waste around the world, the Angel Food Program is committed to meticulously closing the gap on food inequality and winning the fight against food insecurity.
With a dedication to ease the stress of poverty for those affected by incarceration, the Angel Food Project achieves its mission to alleviate food insecurity for those individuals, by making connections to free, high quality, and healthy groceries from local providers.
By connecting our guests and their communities directly with local providers we eliminate the long lines typically seen at food pantries and soup kitchens and promote self-sufficiency and dignity. Our service of free groceries gives our participants the power to allocate more of their money to other pressing matters in their lives, including housing, healthcare, and education.
The Collateral Affects
Food insecurity is formally defined as the state of being without reliable access to adequate affordable, nutritious food.
Today, over 2 Million New Yorkers struggle to put food on the table, with The Bronx having the highest rate of food insecurity in the country.
Food insecurity is a significant driver of stress and trauma in people’s lives.
A Closer Look
Central Harlem, The South Bronx, and East New York, Brooklyn have been designated as New York City’s food deserts. Food deserts are areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food.
Our Program
Angel Food Project (AFP) is working relentlessly to bring quality groceries to these highly distressed communities and its residents, particularly women traumatized by incarceration and sentencing injustices. The Ladies of Hope Ministries address the critical needs of those individuals and their families so that they can look beyond mere survival and towards lives of creative expression, entrepreneurship, and thriving futures.
While the access to healthy foods in many communities with high incarceration rates is seriously low, it becomes detrimental when coupled with low income. Not surprisingly, many of these communities such as The South Bronx, Central Harlem, East New York, Brooklyn also suffer abnormally high rates of health disparities, including diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Recently studies even show that residents of the Bronx were deemed to have the shortest life expectancy than any other community in the Tri-state Area.
The Work Continues
There are still many hurdles that former or current victims of incarceration experience besides food insecurity, including but not limited to, discrimination, poverty, mental health disparities, joblessness, and housing insecurity.
The Ladies of Hope Ministries, as an organization, works to relieve these issues through various programs, including Hope House, Hope House New Orleans, Pathways 4 Equity, Faces of Women Imprisoned and EPIC Ambassadors.
Our Partnerships
The Angel Food project in collaboration with our generous partner, Instacart, gathers from national and local grocery stores to donate to women and families impacted by incarceration.
These high-quality, upscale grocery items generally include fresh organic produce and natural, non-processed foods that have been proven to have positive effects on full-body health and wellness. By developing initiatives and programs to promote healthy living, our guests are equipped with the tools necessary for self-sufficiency when re-entering society post-incarceration.
OUR RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic, we have worked through our Angel Food Project (AFP) to help families address one of their most pressing issues and significant drivers of stress and trauma, food insecurity. The Angel Food Program has continued to safely provide groceries and other emergency items to participants all over New York City despite avid shutdowns and intensive quarantine protocols. Even now, our staff continues to be on ‘All Hands-on Deck’ mode by pitching in to pack bags, make deliveries and save lives - one grocery bag at a time!
Testimonials
I have to say, The Angel Food Project program helped me and my family through some very rough times when our finances were tight. The program gave us some very nice food plenty of times and we are very thankful for all that was given to us. The Angel Food Project really saved us plenty of times. Your program and staff are very caring and supportive during our rough times. I truly thank GOD for all of you. Thank you so very much for everything!!
- Valerie B.
The Angel Food Project is an amazing program that not only goes above and beyond to provide healthy food options but also gave me an opportunity to try new foods that I would've never thought to try. This has been more than a blessing to me and my family during tough times but has warmed our hearts and filled our souls beyond many thanks.
- Priscilla Q.
The Angel Food Project helped me attain food as I struggled to balance storage fees, childcare, and MTA costs after getting a job that made me ineligible for public assistance. I am forever grateful for their support.
- Sister Eli
I appreciate AFP. The food I've received was a big help. I think this program provides an excellent service, especially during a time when grocery prices are at their highest. I have grown so accustomed to putting items back because it's not in my budget, but knowing I've received items from AFP, allowed me to get all the items I intended to get and stay within my budget
- Jennifer T.
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