Reflections on Feeding 14 Hungry People

Last night we fed 14 people, and I wanted to share a little bit about that experience and tell the stories of some of the people I met. I met Jordan outside of Whole Foods. He had a sign saying he was homeless and asking for help. I got him some food and sat with him and his dog Sam for a few minutes.

I met Steve at Jack in the Box after I saw him going through the trash can and told him to order whatever he wanted. He was so excited to get to order for himself. It's small things like that that we don't think of. The ability to stand at a counter and choose what you want for yourself. The ability to choose is an incredibly humanizing experience that people who are impoverished don't often get. While he was waiting for his order, I asked him if he wanted to sit down, and I had the longest and deepest conversation I had in the night. He spoke about the differences between Georgia, where he was from, and Seattle. He said in Georgia it's harder to fit into society if you are not a part of a church. In Seattle, while people are more accepting of his not wanting to be a part of a church, it's harder to find community. We spoke about how it seems that there is less of an emphasis on community in more secular places and the tradeoffs of that. I told him I was Jewish, and we spoke about his experiences at synagogues.

I then continued walking down the street. I offered a few people anything from the convenience store, and I bought a few people some snacks and drinks. Montel didn't want anything (I left his friend's Pepsi with him), but he told me he'd like to help me in any way that he could. He knew about places that donate food for free and could put me in touch with some people. He also told me about how he almost has his GED and asked me to look out for any foreclosed buildings because he wanted to apply for a loan to start a homeless shelter and was looking for places.

I kept walking down the street and got a few people food from a Mexican restaurant. Mike, who couldn't have been younger than 70, was ecstatic when I told him I'd buy him something from there. He hadn't had a hot meal in weeks. He ordered from the counter and, while he was waiting for his food, told me he was from Ohio but moved to Seattle as a child with his parents and has been here since. It broke my heart to meet Rose, who couldn't have been older than 18. She ordered a quesadilla, I offered to buy her more food, but she said it was okay.

I always offer people to get whatever they'd like and to go into the store or restaurant and get what they'd like for themselves. So many people seemed paralyzed by the ability to choose. It isn't something they are used to. I think most people would hear about what I do, offering to get people anything they'd like, and assume that people would take advantage of it. No one really does. It might happen once in a while, but I don't lose over someone who is very hungry getting a lot of food.

I think it is so easy to look at homeless people and create villains. They might be doing drugs, they might smell or look dirty because they might not have the privilege of access to showers, they ask you for things and remind you of all the bad in the world, and it is so much easier to just ignore them. It's so easy to forget that these are human beings who feel hunger, exhaustion, and hurt the way we do. The large majority of homeless people who do drugs weren't doing drugs before they became homeless. Who can blame someone who doesn't have enough food to eat or a warm place to sleep for wanting to escape? It doesn't make them any less human.

One of the biggest causes of mental health issues in homeless people is how invisible they feel. People ignore them, avert their eyes, and pretend they don't exist. Imagine what that would feel like. On top of all the obvious hardships that come along with being homeless, the world gives you the silent treatment as well. It's natural to want to look away, to avoid having to think about the issue of homelessness or imagining yourself in their shoes, but a simple acknowledgment of a person's existence can go a long way in making them feel seen.

At Giving Back for Batya, we try to give and help people, but it's not just about giving. We try to help people feel like people again. Please help us spread the word about GBB and share this post, follow us on social media, or consider making a one-time or monthly donation on our website to allow us to keep doing what we do.