A very cool idea...

Have you ever been at a red light, seen a homeless person, and had the inevitable internal conversation: "Should I give him money? What will he do with it? Should I go get him something and bring it to him?" and on an on and on? I am always torn about what to do in that situation. Typically, we go to the nearest McDonald's (or similar establishment) and grab a hamburger and a drink. But that doesn't always work. And how many people actually have cash on them anyway? I know we don't.

So, here's the solution (got it from my Mom). Make a bag of unperishable food items to keep in your car. That way, when you are faced with the dilemma of cash or food, you have the solution right there in your back seat. And, for those with kiddos, it is a awesome teaching opportunity about the "least of these."

Our small group from church decided to take this on as a project. We spent around $65 dollars in supplies and made 24 bags. That comes out to about $2.70 a bag which is less than a combo meal at a fast food place and we got a lot more and much healthier food in those bags than what you would get in a combo meal.


Here is our list of supplies:
good quality gallon size ziploc bags (we used slider bags) - to be reused after the food is gone
bottled water
tuna meals (comes with tuna, crackers and condiments)
small fruit bowls or cans of fruit or vegetables (get pop top cans!)
napkin/utensil combos (we made our own)
chips, pretzels, crackers, etc (100 calorie packs or the kind you put in kids’ lunches)
something sweet (individually wrapped cookies or hard candy)
granola bars or power bars (without chocolate that can melt)
beef jerky
small packages of wet wipes
simple gospel tracts and info about our church


We put them together in assembly line fashion and were done in 15 minutes. Here is a picture of the finished product (all of this fits into a gallon size ziploc):


So the next time you go to the grocery store, buy a few extra items and fill a bag to keep in your car. It will do you and someone else a lot of good! And you'll be showing the love of Jesus in a very practical way!