FRANKLIN—As food prices continue their seemingly endless upward march, the Rev. Chuck Worth of True Word Christian Church is talking about menus.

Premium beef roast, corn muffins and green beans, will be on the December menu.

Is Reverend Worth opening a restaurant in his Carrsville highway church? Not exactly.

Worth’s church has partnered with Angel Food Ministries, a nonprofit organization based in Georgia, to become an official host site for the ministry’s food relief efforts. Through the program, community members can receive a box of food estimated to feed a family of four for a week for the wallet friendly price of only $30.

According to Worth and the Angel Food Ministries Web site, there are no income requirements or prerequisites for ordering the boxed food goods.

“It’s designed as a hand-up ministry for anybody who needs it. If Donald Trump came in and wanted to buy some boxes of food, he could,” Worth said, with a grin.

“There’s a middle-class segment here in Franklin that has not been getting help because the food pantries are USDA food pantries geared mainly toward people on food stamps,” he said. “The problem that has transpired is people that were middle-level income were kind of forgotten. With the economy the way it is, middle income is becoming the new lower income.”

According to Worth, the soaring prices of food were a primary reason for partnering with Angel Foods.

“When we found out about this, it was a no-brainer,” Worth said.

Following a visit to a Portsmouth distribution center, Worth presented the idea to his congregation. The reception to the idea was generous. Days later, the church signed up as host site. Worth expects a high level of response from the community.

“I anticipate within a month or two we are going to be doing a thousand or more boxes a month,” said Worth. Once a site supplies a certain number of boxes per month, it transitions from a host site to a hub site, with the boxes being delivered directly to its location.

“I see us reaching that point very quickly,” Worth said.

According to Doug Metcalfe, Angel Food’s director of Media and Communications, Worth has good reason to be optimistic. The organization has seen tremendous growth over the last months.

“We went from supplying 300,000 boxes in May to supplying 575,000 this month,” Metcalfe said. “In September, we supplied 542,000.”

Metcalfe also noted that November was traditionally a low-demand month.

“We want to give the churches something to do to help the community. It’s a blessing to the community that the church can use,” Metcalfe said.

Angel Food returns $1 from every box purchased to the host site for use for benevolent work.

“The host sites are the backbone of what we do,” Metcalfe said.

Worth said the program helps his church reach out to the community.

“Everything we do is geared toward just showing people Christ in the community,” he said. “Does that translate to a huge growth in our church? Not really. But that’s not what were told to do.”

Those wishing to order food can do so at True Word Christian Church on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ordering will also be available on Wednesdays and Sundays prior to the church’s regularly scheduled services. Orders can also be placed through the Angel Food Ministries Web site, www.angelfoodministries.com. There are no requirements for ordering a box. Food stamps will be accepted, along with cash, checks, money orders and cashiers checks.