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The holidays are nearly upon us! Here are some notes on giving food to homeless people, from the perspective of someone who does outreach and sees a lot of well-intentioned (but ignorant) giving. Thread 
As a starting point, consider what homeless people are usually given and how well these foods fulfill their needs. Below, is a standard school-lunch which we frequently see bulk-dropped at homeless encampments. While people do eat these, the food isn’t warm or freshly-made.
Prepared meals, even microwavable ones (so long as they’re already warmed up), are often preferable. For an example, see the meal below from @khalsafp.
Even better, however, is a homemade meal! We made homemade burritos for a few months and people really liked and appreciated them! Just be sure to let people know what ingredients are in the food you’re giving them - if you can label that is great.
Fresh/frozen foods such as vegetables and dairy/meat that require preparation are generally a no-go, however, b/c people often do not have the cooking supplies to prepare these foods for themselves. An exception is fruit, however, which is popular to eat raw.
For example, while I appreciated the giant bag of raw onions someone dropped off (which I just finished), residents did not. Their encampment is not a dumping ground, and such drop-offs often end up piled near the few trash cans they have, rotting and leaving maggots.
And PLEASE get out of your car and say hi when you deliver your food. We've seen way too many people honk and idle their vehicle, expecting someone to come over to them. This is disrespectful and a poor way to ensure anyone will eat what you bring; building trust, however, is.
Once you get to know the needs of the homeless community closest you, you can adapt what you bring - e.g., someone might be a camp cook who will take donations of fresh vegetables, etc. Great! But to begin, think Prepared (ideally w/ utensils), Warm, Low Waste and Hand-Delivered!
And pay attention to how your local food distribution organizers, who really do this work w/ the un-housed, go about it: @polospantry, @lifekitla, Brown Bag Lady, @KtownforAll, Burrito Project (multiple cities), and others I don't even know (feel free to tag in comments below).
If you’re in LA, plz support this Pie Drive!!!!! https://twitter.com/mellemusic/status/1328426233474940928
