Angel Food Ministries - Allergen Free Food Box

It is no secret that food allergies can be expensive. A recent article in the New York Times
explores the heavy financial burden parents face when a child is given a diagnosis of food allergies. How can we continue to meet our child's special diet needs in today's struggling economy? Luckily there are organizations out there willing to help.
I recently came across Angel Food Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. Families are given the opportunity to purchase a $30 box containing approximately $65 worth of food (enough to feed a family of four for a week).
Organizations like Angel Food Ministries have been popping up around the country in hopes of helping families effected by today's troubled economy. There are no qualifications, minimums, income restrictions, or applications. But what sets Angel Food Ministries apart from others is their choice in menu's. They now offer a 5lb allergen free food box for $23. The box consists of frozen foods free from peanuts, soy, milk, eggs, fish, crustacean, tree nuts, and gluten. You can view this month's menu here.
If you have purchased an allergen free food box from Angel Food Ministries I would love to hear your comments about the food and their services.This just might be the extra bit of help some of us need to get back on our feet.

Update:
I contacted Angel Food Ministries with questions regarding cross contamination and labeling and received a response within 24 hours. I have attached a copy of their response below:

Hello,

The allergen food is made in a dedicated facility.  There is no cross contamination.
 I am not sure if they come with a full ingredient label but the ingredients are :

Battered with-water, white rice, brown rice, modified tapioca, starch, flax seed,
sugar, salt, spices, dehydrated garlic, spice extractives and oleoresin paprika.

Breaded with white rice, brown rice, modified tapioca starch, flax seed, sugar,
dextrose, salt, spices, dehydrated garlic, spice extractives and oleoresin paprika.

Eliminating the following food allergies- gluten-free) wheat, oats, rye malt & barley)
Soy-free
Peanut-free
Tree nut-free (walnut, cashew, almond, etc..)
Egg-free
Milk-free (casein, etc..)

Thanks and hope this helps!

The upside of food allergies

There is so much negativity accompanied by food allergies. Not being able to enjoy great foods that most people take for granted is definitely top of that list. You tend to get invited to far fewer dinner parties and other social events that are surrounded by food. For children this means fewer birthday party invites. It seems to be to big of a hassle to work around another child's needs. For the parent of a food allergic child this means being "that mom". You know the overprotective and overbearing mother that none of the other parents want to deal with.
Well I have come to look at my sons food allergies as some what of a blessing. We often forget to take a step back and see just how lucky we are. We are to busy focusing on the problem at hand, creating awareness, educating, fundraising, and finding a cure. This is the life of a parent who has a child with food allergies. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate all the hard work and dedication that is put in to these efforts. After all I am "that mom".
When forced to take a different view of my families life with food allergies I have to say it has changed our eating habits for the better. I believe most food allergy families are living this way. By reading the labels of every product that comes through our home I am able to say I know everything my child is eating. I focus now on more nutritional meals. There is no fast and easy anymore. I enjoy having to take the time to prepare a meal that I know is healthy and safe for my children. I can also say that I am more informed and involved with my son's school then I ever would have been. A parent teacher relationship is key to keeping a food allergic child safe in school. A good relationship with all of those who may at some point care for your child is also key. I think my son's food allergies has brought us back to the way parenting should be. There of course will always be those who may prefer to refer to it as necrotic parenting but I suppose I've been called worse. : )
This said I would just like anyone who has a food allergic child or is living with food allergies themselves to take a step back from the craziness and find something wonderful that has come from your experience. I know its hard and scary at times but there really is an upside! Keep up the good work.

What about the almonds?

I have heard that WhiteWave Foods, the distributors of Silk Soy Milk, has been bought out by another company who is now processing Almond Milk in the same facility and on the same equipment as both Dairy and Soy Milk. My son is allergic to nuts and we frequently buy Silk Soy Milk so naturally I was concerned about cross contamination when I heard this. I emailed the company in order to confirm this information and obtain information regarding cross contamination issues. Here was their response:

Thank you for your recent e-mail to WhiteWave Foods. We appreciate your interest in our company.We understand your concern with regard to shared manufacturing equipment and appreciate the opportunity to share with you our commitment to producing safe food products.

While our Silk® products do not contain dairy, they are produced at a variety of facilities across the United States, some of which process both soy and dairy-based products. Each of these facilities has a well-defined allergen control program, which includes the procurement and storage of raw ingredients, rigorous testing for the presence of dairy allergens in our finished product, and isolated production runs.

In addition, these facilities follow Good Manufacturing Practices, which are the foundation of any food safety program and provide the guidelines for sanitary operations, including the sterilizing and cleaning of manufacturing equipment. We understand that many of our consumers use Silk® products because they are lactose intolerant, allergic to milk, or follow a diet free of dairy. For these reasons, we are committed to providing a product that is 100% dairy-free.

Food safety is our highest priority and as part of our commitment to quality, all employees involved in the manufacturing of Silk® have a comprehensive awareness of food allergen concerns.We hope this information is helpful.Sincerely,
Denise Franco
Consumer Response Representative

Ref: N1017937

That's all great and wonderful but what about the almonds? I will continue to try and contact someone who can answer my question.

For an update on this post read, "Finally some answers from Silk".