Food For The Homeless

The idea of having vending machines for the homeless does not seem so bad. I mean, when the group was telling stats on the homeless, I was just thinking, "Okay....where's this going? Another homeless shelter? Soup kitchen?" Something that would be really cliche. But after seeing their plan, I was impressed. So, if I can remember, the original plan was to have certain restaurants put vending machines behind the building. The homeless people would get access to the food by going to a certain soup kitchen and registering for a food card. This food card will have that person's name, picture, and would give that person one meal per day, and a dollar or two for extra necessities. We decided that this would at least decrease the hunger among homeless people. Of course this plan needed a few tweaks though.

So what about families?
Families should be given better accommodations since there is more people. Everyone registering for a card should file whether they are single, married, have children, etc. They should then be directed to what type of card they should get. They should be distinct. Like either different colors, lengths, etc.

What if a card is not used one day?
The meal(s) not used one day should rollover into the next use. So, for example, if a card is not used one day, and has one meal on it, then the next day, you will have two meals on your card. This way, the cardholder would at least get more than one meal a day.

Why are the machines in the back?
Well, after discussing, the group decided that they can be in the front so homeless people would not feel discriminated against, Also, they will be able to sit in the restaurant with everyone else. The food will probably need to be heated up anyway.

The only question I felt was not answered thoroughly was where the money was going to come from. A thought is that it could come from sponsors. For example, huge celebrities give to homeless shelters and anything that helps homeless people. Not saying that the group should try to reach a celebrity so soon, but it could be something to strive for. In the meantime, they should reach out to corporate authorities. Hopefully, one of them will be a CBU alum.

Overall, the plan to put vending machines near supporting restaurants is a great idea. With just a few tweaks, this plan could really go through.