Some Advice for Food Pantries Serving the Homeless
There are a variety of sources to go to if food pantry managers wish to assist homeless clients looking for nourishment. The needs of the homeless are often very different from those of persons who have modern appliances, who live indoors, and who have the luxury of planning and preparing meals in a safe and stable environment.
Many homeless persons do not have a safe and stable environment in which to prepare meals.
Understanding that basic fact will help managers of food pantries – and similar agencies and organizations – begin on their journey of learning to help disadvantaged, often harassed, homeless people who are looking to the pantry staff and volunteers not just for food and drink, but also something of great value: compassion.
The rise in the number of homeless persons in our nation is a huge embarrassment. American taxpayers are failing to protect, house, serve, and assist people who are in need. Many people wind up being homeless because of the loss of a job, the close of a factory, or the loss of funds to an employer like a school or college. Many persons who are “new homeless” need to most help – they do not know where to turn.
Providing compassion and asking a protocol of questions of those clients, especially, can help serve them in a way that answers their dietary and emotional needs for the day. Asking questions like, “Is there any food you cannot have?” and “Is there any food you should not have?” can go a long way to serving them better.
At a higher level of importance are questions such as, “Is there any food you dare not have?” It is the duty of the pantry management to decide how intrusive the questions can be – BUT CRUCIAL DECISIONS ON THESE QUESTIONS MUST BE MADE. Clients on certain medications for their heart cannot have dark fruits and vegetables because they interfere with those meds – meaning no blueberries, no spinach, no dark grapes.
So where does one start in trying to help the homeless – many of whom have special needs and situations? Recent resources are meant to help, such as this article on the Second City Teachers blog in Chicago: “Helper Groups Who Assist the Homeless.” This piece explains a variety of food and personal care items for unhoused persons (Thomas Hansen, August 11, 2020, Second City Teachers: Volunteer to Help).
Another article, called “The Best Food for Homeless People,” provides a straightforward explanation of what is suitable to give to unhoused persons to eat. This page, called “the Homeless Guy,” is written by an actual homeless person, Kevin Barbieux. He states that foods for the homeless should be chosen carefully and with purpose. Barbieux outlines a plan by saying, “The Food Pyramid is the best place to start. Fruits and vegetables, the natural foods rich in vitamins and minerals, are most needed’ (The Best Food For Homeless People | The Homeless Guy (wordpress.com)).
Yet another article, called “The Kinds of Items Homeless Persons Really Need,” provides straightforward statements about realities. The article attempts to get people to donate relevant items truly important rather than giving a homeless person a bag of trail mix or random item like pretzels (Thomas Hansen, July 20, 2020, Second City Teachers: Homeless Needs).
Advice on food items to include (e.g., raisins, tuna fish) and to not include (e.g., granola bars, nuts) is available on this site which includes very helpful hints, including ideas on things to include in a homeless person’s care package: Socks! – and many single-packed small and easy to carry personal items like bandages, toothpaste, and toothbrush (Homeless Care Packages: Dos and Don'ts | SEU Combats Homelessness (stedwards.edu)).
It is the duty of food pantry managers to train their staff members and volunteers to know how to sift and sort through the foods available to find what fits the INDIVIDUAL CLIENT who is at your door.
Hoping the lactose-intolerant homeless person will just take the 6 cartoons of cottage cheese and go away is not a very humane way to help people in need—a common goal blurted out by some food pantry workers and volunteers who get frustrated some clients cannot have certain foods.
Important things to remember when trying to help homeless clients:
· They may not have can openers (these are heavy to carry around, get dirty, and need to be cleaned often);
· They may not have access to a microwave (no mac and cheese mixtures or stir fry packets);
· They may not know what some foods from a different culture are or may not be able to eat them;
· They may not be able to digest certain foods (dairy; gluten-free breads; fish-free tuna salad);
· They may prefer some canned goods to be able to have a “reserve of food to eat the following day” or may not prefer canned goods because they are too heavy to carry;
· They may not have access to a refrigerator (no way to keep leftovers, no way to hold onto condiments, no way to “drink the rest tomorrow’);
· They may not have strong teeth for chewing (no lettuce – it sits in the throat when the client tries to swallow it whole);
· They may not be able to swallow or “keep down” certain foods like greasy soup or spicy chili;
· They may have a common favorite food and if you find out what it is and provide it you may be making a profound difference in their lives; and
· They may not be dieticians and may need to be reminded: mix A with B instead of eating the whole packet of A alone.
Sometimes pantry staff and volunteers will come across with a key food the homeless person can have and then go overboard. Finding out the client likes, and can eat, bananas, does not mean they want a dozen bananas. Where will they put them? Will they eat all of them at once? Who will carry them around for them?
A key question in getting a reasonable amount of food together with some eye on “balanced meals” is this: Now that I have this client’s bag of food ready, would I myself go home tonight and eat a dozen bananas and a dozen cans of tuna fish for dinner tonight?
Avoid thinking only in terms of “snacks” for homeless adults and children. The homeless cannot live on 24 boxes of raisins and 5 tiny chocolate bars alone.
Could you?