I started doing this as a young child with my family through a local church. Every Tuesday we would make a bunch of manwich and go feed people transitioning from the psych ward at a local hospital to outside life. That’s exactly where lots of homelessness begins, so the idea is to prevent it.

Now, I keep water to give away. I realized quickly that granola bars are no good if you can’t chew, and stopped giving them away. One night I was visiting a house full of my friends in a downtown neighborhood, and there was a knock on the door. A man asking about the red car on the street, and I immediately assumed it had been hit. No, the man had recognized my car and needed help badly. We gave him a little to eat and drink before sending him on. I still get a hard time for being recognized like that, but frequently people who are begging just stop to ask for water now when they are truly thirsty.

A better use of my 10 bucks than bowling or a movie, and far more rewarding. It’s all in how you see it.