Feeding the Hungry

At First UU Church Houston a few years ago, our Parent's Group started a project to create meal packs for the hungry in Houston. We were not trying in a broad way to feed the homeless; instead, we were trying to give congregants an alternative to giving money to street solicitors. In this way, we thought people might find it easier to be more generous in the moment.

With the packs themselves, were looking to accomplish a few goals:

1. Packs should comprise non-perishable items, so they can be stored at home and taken with you in the car/on your bike so you can give them to people who are in need;
2. The nutrition should be balanced, with a good amount of protein;
3. There should be plenty of liquid, important especially in the summer;
4. Items should be edible even with bad gums or teeth (soft foods);
5. The packs should be inexpensive and provided at-cost to purchasers so they feel comfortable buying many and handing them out.

With those in mind, we managed to create the following packs for about $3 each (by purchasing items in bulk):

• A quart sized "zip" locking bag
• A paper napkin and plastic spoon or spork
• A postcard with a map of Houston and locations/phone numbers of aid agencies
• A liter/quart of water
• A juice box
• A tuna-fish based lunch pack (the most expensive item, but the most nutritious)
• A pudding
• An applesauce
• A pack of cheese its or other snack
• A pack of cheese or peanut-butter stuffed crackers
• A granola bar

We managed to stuff almost 2000 calories of long-lasting food with a good mix of nutrition, while providing water and kind of fun snacks. The packs were easy to shop for, simple to assemble, and are satisfying to give out. Because we were able to recoup the cost of the packs each time, the project itself was self-sustaining after an initial "investment" from the social action group of the congregation. By taking pre-orders, we were even able to expand the production at various times.

I'm proud that my daughter's Girl Scout troop did a similar project this year at Thanksgiving. Because of fund-raising rules, they were not able to recoup the costs from outside the troop; still, they considered it a valuable project and invested their collective dues into making five packs for each girl.

This is not a project which tries to address the causes of homelessness or hunger; it's not a program which will help people get off the streets. Those are additional, sustained efforts which need to take place as well. But as we know, structural change doesn't happen overnight; in the meantime, we can make these small efforts while we work on the large problems.