Many homeless persons do not attempt to get food or other resources because they feel there is nothing there for them. Many homeless friends have told me, “They just do not understand what we need.” Even when the potential clients try to explain what they want or need, the volunteers and staff members at many pantries seem to not listen. “They get angry and frustrated," said one homeless person, who has other means of getting food anyway and does not want the insults and the nonsense.
While some homeless people have this view, others do not. Jenny, a homeless woman who goes to many different pantries and agencies for help, seems to know who has what — and who listens to their clients. “If you explain what foods you can and cannot eat and make it clear you are homeless, staff members very often will work with you to find out how to help you,” she insists. “They know their job is to get rid of the food in the pantry and help the clients.” She says she gets along with the workers and is always patient with them. “They almost always try to give me toothpaste, soap, tissues, and other personal items… I don’t argue with them.”
Many pantry workers and volunteers are great at their jobs, Jenny and some other people I talked to said.
These positive-attitude people say they have advice for pantry workers. They say the workers should not assume all homeless are the same or have the same kinds of storage capacity for food or the same access to things like microwaves. Asking the homeless client what they want or need, at the very beginning of the visit, is essential. Assumptions can lead to misunderstandings. It is always to best to get as much information as possible about the new client.
What are the kinds of needs homeless clients have that are so difficult for the wealthy and privileged volunteers and staff members who work at pantries? Can pantry workers put themselves into the shoes of a homeless person for just a few moments? That sort of exercise might help. First, I look at some bad examples of foods to offer homeless persons.
Undesirable offers to the homeless clients:
1. Foods that need to be chopped, cooked, mixed, topped, etc. Cake mixes, heads of lettuce, avocadoes, pineapples, and salami are all examples.
2. Cans that are large, heavy, strange shapes, and need to be opened with a can opener. Do not assume the homeless client has a can opener! They are heavy to carry around, and they get dirty and need to be cleaned often.
3. Drinks or foods in huge quantity. Homeless people generally do not have access to a freezer or refrigerator. Do you go home at night, sit down, and eat 14 bananas? Most homeless people do not have any place to put leftovers. They throw them out.
4. Little silly snacks that have no food value and take time to mess with. Mini drink boxes? Trail mix? How often do you go home at night and eat seven bags of raisins? Little bags with three small pieces of candy in them?
5. Bad diet choices. Does the homeless person eat meat? Need low-sodium foods? Need low-sugar foods? If they have diabetes, they should not be offered bags of cookies and donuts. Asking about health and diet up front makes good sense.
6. Weird items like huge loaves of garlic bread or party-size boxes of bbq potato chips – with several bags of chips inside. What will they do with all of them? Huge cans of baked beans?
7. Bad chewing choices. Does the homeless person have trouble with their teeth? Do they want huge bags of pretzels? Big bags of taffy? Licorice? Other hard-to-chew foods?
8. Bad cultural or religious choices. Does the homeless person eat pork? Are they allowed to?
9. Bad stomach choices. Can the homeless person eat dairy products? That does not mean just a glass of milk. It includes regular yogurt, lots of fancy puddings and pies with whipped (real!) cream on top, cottage cheese, swiss cheese sandwiches, plus macaroni and cheese salads.
10. Too many of the same item. The homeless person may enjoy tuna fish, but may not want two dozen cans of it to carry around. Oranges? Apples? Maybe they would like one or two, but of course not a whole bag! A more balanced diet can come from mixing types of foods (veg., fruit, meat) and aiming for good health.
The above examples drive home the point strongly that homeless persons have very different needs from the average client who is privileged enough to have a refrigerator to keep leftovers and extra food in, a microwave to warm foods, and a stove to cook or bake meals.
Desirable offers to the homeless clients:
1. Individually-wrapped sandwiches and meals. Easy-to-open bags and containers with ready-to-eat foods are wonderful for homeless clients. Examples are: chicken and pasta dinners, breakfast sandwiches, salad kits and already-prepared salads, chicken salad sandwiches, plus turkey and cheddar subs.
2. A reasonable number of each item. Two oranges, two cans of tuna fish, and two apples may be just what the doctor ordered. If there is some item the client would like more of, perhaps they can be accommodated.
3. Purposeful choices. If when packing the food you are not sure, please do not simply throw in items hoping the client will want them. One example is candy. Many clients cannot or should not have a lot of candy. Throwing a handful into the bag or box to “make it look more filled up” seems to happen a lot at pantries – and this is a dangerous practice for persons who should not have any candy at all.
4. Healthy choices are wonderful! A variety of fresh produce, with canned goods, and other types of choices, will work fine. However, throwing in too many crackers and cheese or crackers and peanut butter makes it look like a sack lunch or snacks to eat in the car on the way to the beach. Adult homeless persons should not be eating a lot of snacks between meals anymore than housed persons should. This may be different in the winter, when more food and fuel are necessary, of course. In the summer, an extra can of real fruit juice is a great idea!
5. Palatable choices showing care for clients. Avoid giving them government-packed bags of strange military-style meals and snacks (which are often grossly expired) which the clients are supposed to cook over a low flame – included – and top with sprinkles – included – because these nightmares are hard to cook, and almost impossible to digest most the time. Throw these into the garbage.
6. Careful choices showing a good attitude. Clients can sense when their special needs are frustrating or confusing to staff and volunteers who love to keep the production line moving and throwing those bags out the door to people waiting. Showing you listened when the client says they love bananas but they do not want peanut butter helps the client feel like they are being helped at the pantry… and not merely tolerated.
Homeless persons need to eat, and they need to digest. Helping them get suitable meals they can enjoy and make good use of is a very honorable thing for pantry staff and volunteers to accomplish. Many homeless people are in their situation because of accidents or actions that have been done to them. Not every homeless person is guilty of crimes that have placed into their current living status. Many homeless persons do not enjoy being homeless and do not need to be reminded constantly of how difficult their living situation is. All day long, they face judgment and discrimination.
It would be nice to think homeless persons can go to a pantry and be treated with respect, be listened to, and be served food they can enjoy. Currently, only a tiny fraction of the homeless persons are served at food pantries. Ask a pantry employee how many persons they serve in the category of “no cooking” or “ready to eat” or “take and go.”
You will be surprised so few such clients exist on each pantry’s lists. Unfortunately, many homeless people just don’t feel they can spend time on visits to pantries.