Eye-opening read. "What I learned when I took a homeless mom grocery shopping."

These are the same sentiments spoken by my friend Beth who has served dinner

at the Orlando homeless shelter once a month for over 15 years. In addition, she prepares packages for 30 local "families in need" for Thanksgiving dinner and breakfast the next day. She always makes sure there is plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh milk, and unprocessed food for the exact reasons stated in this article.

 
But wait, there's more. This IS a good article but

Low-income Americans are traditionally stuck in a deeply unfortunate food cycle. With meager funds, they rely on the cheapest food sources, which are those being subsidized by the government: soy, corn, and wheat. These inexpensive crops are turned into inexpensive foods, mixed with sugars and highly processed, leading to chronic health concerns like obesity, diabetes, and cancer.

/there is lack of transportation. They are also in ":food deserts" where the only place to shop is a convenience store OR the gas station counters(and this is NOT just the homeless--this article applies to those in poverty, IMO)--there is no fresh produce stand, a community garden or even a major supermarket. These are things to also be addressed.
It is expensive to eat "right" unfortunately. The other thing to be addressed is to educate the parent about nutrition.
Our city is trying to broadly address the homeless problem--finding stable incomes and housing along with education about finances. There is a program for the "suddenly homeless families" to help them past their crisis. It can be truly heartbreaking.

 
You are so right Charley. Our local Farmers Market has a EBT

(Electronics Beneftis Transer ) booth and I see the folks getting their wooden coins there. They go around looking at the various booths and so many have no idea what to do with a bell pepper, or a leek. If I hear them discussing it, I try and help the best I can, even giving them a quick, easy way to prep the ingredient or add it into a recipe. Last week, a couple of really shaggy, very thin, twitchy type of guys, were talking loudly, discussing what they were going to spend their money on. They looked at a huge pile of beautiful cucumbers and one announced, "for sure, I am getting me some of them hot house cukes!" I turned and told them (with a smile) that they were going to get someithing better than that....real cukes just picked out of the grower's garden late yesterday with no sprays or chemicals on them. I got a beautiful toothless grin back! Oh my.

 
Once when I was lugging my produce home from the farmer's market

a homeless guy asked me if I could give him some food. I showed him what I had and he said he couldn't eat any of it, he had no teeth left. heartbreaking.

 
Wow, that is something. The transients up here are getting very aggressive

it is scary. I refer to transients, because many of the homeless are families, moms with kids. So many of the transients are on drugs and/or have mental health issues. Folks are getting a bit political about how you describe the homeless population. I am sad for all of them, it is a very unfomfortable way to exist.

 
I was serving at a homeless shelter and passing out donated donuts. A guy

sneered down at it and said: "I want FOOD! Not sugar!"

It was the first time I ever associated a dessert as an unwanted item.

 
Once I saw the "homeless vet in a wheelchair" get-up and give his jacket/sign to another guy...

apparently this other guy was "the second shift" coming to use the wheelchair/disabled vet sign/fatigue jacket.

I'd also read an article that many of these folks in SF do this "professionally" and make quite a bit of money - upwards of 50K per year (and I read that article quite a while ago, so that number is old).

I never give out money - I have given food, but there are lots of places the homeless here can get food (my SIL use to work at a homeless shelter) and the beggars are often addicts looking for ways to fund their additions.

 
panhandling, big problem up here too. we give water or food, but they often won't take either

 
I'll never forget working for Price Waterhouse in downtown Philly many moons ago...

It was around Christmas time and I saw a down-and-out man sitting down and leaning against a concrete pillar at the base of the skyscraper. I offered him a $1.00 bill and he adamantly refused it.

Some of these unfortunate folks have dignity and he took my breath away when he refused the offer. He wasn't asking for help. I felt so embarrassed.

 
Aw Ang, I've missed you too and others here as well.

I guess I'm just going through a "phase" so to speak. I should come here more often to get my cooking mojo back!

Best regards,

Sandy

 
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