I don't know how it is in most big cities, but I imagine it to be the same as it is here in Murfreesboro. We currently have one of the fastest growing cities in America. With the rapid growth we have, we also have an insane amount of street beggars. Its mostly at big intersections that make it very difficult to actually talk to them, but easy to wave a hand of money out of the window while waiting for the red light. Some of these people have to be making a ton of money based on what I've seen. Until recently, a lot people are seen handing out food and money to them. Lately, it seems that people are becoming jaded for seeing the same people day after day at the same location. I am as well. I expect someone to eat what I give them having their needs met for the moment and to put down the sign momentarily to enjoy a warm, free meal. I usually drive away seeing them put it near their backpack to continue holding up their sign probably to never eat a bite despite telling me that they're hungry. But, I'd much rather waste money on food for someone than to drop off money never knowing if I'm encouraging bad habits through gifted money.
I began dinner tonight, very early, and with intentions of making a plate of warm food for someone who needs it. If your cooking is anything like mine where you grossly overestimate how much everyone will eat, you'll be tired of leftovers after the two days and still have more than you know what to do with. We're always throwing out food. The dogs, goats and chickens love that I cook too much. Tonight, I still had leftovers even after dishing out a very large portion of spaghetti. I've helped a guy out with food before that I randomly met through church as he was trying to find a NA group there. I called him several times today thinking my dinner tonight would be for him, but I couldn't reach him when it was time. So I loaded the kids up and headed to the Y so I could go workout. On our way, I figured that I would see one of those beggars with the cardboard signs that reads "Homeless, anything helps!" and do a drop off. It took us a while to see one tonight. I guess they mostly go home to eat with their families around dinner time and already made their "wages" for the day.
Today, I hopefully helped out someone who needed it and it was little to no worries for me. It actually helped me out! I still had leftovers, but not so much that we couldn't eat it. I hate seeing food rot in our fridge. I'd like to think that our grocers give out food to a local homeless ministry before they're too bad to eat, but not many people think about doing that in our own kitchen. I hope I can change my mindset to think of others outside of our home to help out when I make way too much to eat. I will find someone ahead of time to ensure that its actually eaten and appreciates the freshness of it:)
I remember someone telling me that they were so grateful every time one of my family members invited them for dinner b/c they didn't have to worry about whether or not they'd eat that night. At least once a week I cook too much, so I'd like to keep this going. Maybe it'll give others a good idea for their leftovers. We have a hunger crisis going on all around us, but its difficult to find sometimes.
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