Mimi and Chen ... and food

tgf
tgf Member Posts: 950 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi ... I just read your post about food for the homeless and thought I'd add a bit ...

I work at a Food Pantry every Wednesday afternoon and we distribute groceries to those who need it. We always have canned goods (green beans, corn etc) and protein such as hamburger etc. ... as well as enough other groceries that they all end up leaving with a full grocery bag.

We noticed several people bypassing the canned goods and the protein. Eventually we realized they either ... didn't have can openers or didn't have kitchens and were unable to cook anything. We now have a section in our storage area where we keep can openers, plastic eating utensils ... and pop-top cans of food. It's amazing how many people coming to the Food Pantry did not tell us they were homeless ... but now we know what to look for and if they pass by the canned goods or items needing to be cooked ... we just descretely ask them if they need pop-top cans. It's amazing what a can of vienna sausages, or spam ... will do. And there's so many other items with pop-top cans that actually make a meal ... Spaghetti-Os, canned soups that don't need to be deluted etc. And ... crackers ... and peanut butter etc are all great.

Just thought I'd share my experiences ...

hugs to everyone...

teena

Comments

  • mimivac
    mimivac Member Posts: 2,143 Member
    #2
    Thanks, Teena
    This is good to know. Homeless people have so little, we can often overlook their very basic needs, such as eating utensils. I like Chen's idea, too, of making food that is ready to eat like sandwiches and including plastic forks with her lasangna. These touches often make all the difference. Great ideas.

    Mimi
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #3
    mimivac said:

    Thanks, Teena
    This is good to know. Homeless people have so little, we can often overlook their very basic needs, such as eating utensils. I like Chen's idea, too, of making food that is ready to eat like sandwiches and including plastic forks with her lasangna. These touches often make all the difference. Great ideas.

    Mimi

    Teena .. Noble cause ... I am glad to know you
    VickiSam
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159 Member
    #4
    Thanks for sharing that
    Thanks for sharing that Teena~ and how very discerning to put the 2 and 2 together about the cans without pop tops! I feel relieved that "just by accident" the cans of dog food I included in my food gifts were indeed of the pop top variety!

    Bless your heart for working at the Food Bank; you are a treasure!

    Hugs,
    Chen♥
  • outdoorgirl
    outdoorgirl Member Posts: 1,565
    #5
    chenheart said:

    Thanks for sharing that
    Thanks for sharing that Teena~ and how very discerning to put the 2 and 2 together about the cans without pop tops! I feel relieved that "just by accident" the cans of dog food I included in my food gifts were indeed of the pop top variety!

    Bless your heart for working at the Food Bank; you are a treasure!

    Hugs,
    Chen♥

    I really admire
    what you guys do,thanks.
  • Noel
    Noel Member Posts: 3,095 Member
    #6
    Teena :)
    Teena, that is so wonderful what you do! We have always donated to the local food bank, but, that is about it. Your working at the food pantry, when you already work full time, is just great! You are the best Teena!

    ♥ Noel
  • Ritzy
    Ritzy Member Posts: 4,381 Member
    #7
    Noel said:

    Teena :)
    Teena, that is so wonderful what you do! We have always donated to the local food bank, but, that is about it. Your working at the food pantry, when you already work full time, is just great! You are the best Teena!

    ♥ Noel

    That is so great that you do
    That is so great that you do that Teena! I know it is so appreciated!

    Sue :)
  • Wolfi
    Wolfi Member Posts: 425
    #8
    Food pantry
    Teena,

    Although I've never worked at a food pantry, I have always been into donating food to the local pantry. I had a lot of fun when my kids were small and I was trying to teach them about money. Whenever they got spending money (from allowance, birthdays, Christmas, etc) I made them put some in savings, keep some for spending, and have some for donating. We would go to the store and buy as many cans of food as we could with their money and then drop it off at the food pantry on the way home. That way they could see the "big picture" of how it all worked to help others. They still talk about that so it is something that must have stuck with them.

    One thing I would like to point out to everyone is that sometimes food pantries need cash in order to purchase things that are in high demand (like can openers, diapers, toothpaste, etc). There was a food pantry at our old church and although they received enough canned and boxed food donations they were always short on toiletries and baby products. We would donate food but I would also regularly give cash donations so the person running the food pantry could purchase anything else that ran out during the month.

    Helping others is one of the best feelings around.

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