Comments on: Care Packages for the Homeless: Way to Help the Homeless

By: Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles

Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:25:48 +0000

What a fabulous idea. March is the month our church sets aside for just this, with a sock drive and nights set up to house the homeless in our area. We collect gently used towels & clothing, toiletries, etc. to give those in need, and provide food, conversation, and a warm place to sleep. Wonderful post.

By: sweetsugarbelle

sweetsugarbelle — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:34:27 +0000

you are amazing!

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:10:19 +0000

Those are great examples. Since some families choose to make anywhere from 50-100 of these, budget is also a consideration. If they could find someone to donate or if people have additional income to invest, those are excellent suggestions.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:56:00 +0000

Instead of snacks and gum (?), how about food with actual sustenance? These people have a poor diet to begin with and sugary goodness will rob the body of proper nutrients. In the winter especially they will need high calorie foods. If I may suggest peanut butter, nutrition bars (Clif Bars for bodybuilders, or anything equivalent), beef jerky, canned fruit with pop tabs, MREs, and whatever else one can think of. Just include a case of plastic silverware.

Also shampoo/soap with towels, brush/combs, and LED flashlight (with batteries), and mylar blankets (commonly found in survival kits), and first aid kits.

By: christina parker brown

christina parker brown — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:20:42 +0000

I am very interested in doing this. Any ideas how the kids can be personally involved in giving and meeting the homeless? Great post!

By: jeanette

jeanette — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:56:09 +0000

@whitney, I am certain the Marines can't donate MRE's. My husband used to work on base and saw hundreds of MRE's being thrown away that were close to being expired. As an individual I am certain you could start a drive to collect so much of what is wasted. That is all it takes, one person to start it up.

By: whitney

whitney — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:40:45 +0000

@jeanette,
Jeanette, I have a question for you…
Is it legal to give out MRE’s to the homeless (or anyone who wants them) if the box has been opened as well as the meal package? Meaning, once the MRE’s have been rummaged through can the individually wrapped snacks and meals be donated? The reason I am asking is, once the Marines are issued their MRE’s they open the box, each individual gets so many MRE packages, and he opens them and takes out what he wants to eat while in the field… leaving 7/8 of the items behind to be thrown out… and these individuals have no incentive to save anything they don’t use because they are required to take home whatever they are issued and saving everything just stacks up and cannot be eaten. The huge waste is an issue for me and I would like to know if you knew how the donation process works, or if this stuff HAS to be thrown out because it cannot be given back to the Marine Corps. I couldn’t find anything about this online :/ and your help would be very much appreciated.

By: Rachel R.

Rachel R. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:09:45 +0000

What did you put your items in?

By: Around The Blog-o-Sphere!

Around The Blog-o-Sphere! — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:35:31 +0000

[...] this idea for helping the homeless. Jen at Beauty and Bedlam posted last week how her family made care packages for the homeless. I, too find myself not giving money to the homeless in fear they’ll use it for things [...]

By: Stef

Stef — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:23:23 +0000

Inspiring, thank you for this. I just got done reading “A Same Kind of Different as Me” and it gave me a whole new perspective this issue.

Stef
Frugalhomeideas.blogspot.com