Impacts Of Homeless Shelters On Food Access

Homelessness and hunger go hand in hand. In homeless shelters, people have no cooking options, and their food is little. They have to rely on donations and government subsidies. Sometimes the donations aren’t enough, and the subsidies do not arrive in time. Consequently, homeless individuals go to any lengths to obtain food. Some engage in illegal activities to feed their families, while others scavenge in dumpsters. Here are more impacts of homeless shelters on food access.

Use of Food Stamps

Food stamps come in handy for people living in homeless shelters. Since they make little or no money, many have registered for food stamps to access food. With this homeless food service, people have to wait for 30 days to be eligible, making it harder to access food. Also, the stamps provide limited funds; hence the acquired money is not enough to last until the next food stamp.

Selling Personal Items

Many residents in homeless shelters have been forced to pawn their personal items to access food. Some of the items sold include jewelry, electronics, and even clothes. They use this strategy to obtain money for food. Mostly, they sell these items in places where they can buy them back to get temporary monetary assistance.

Foregoing Food for Children’s Sake

With only a little food available, adults sacrifice their food for the small children. Mothers especially are sometimes forced to forego their meals so their children can have at least two meals in a day. This contributes to malnutrition. Also, some adults with health problems such as diabetes jeopardize their health for not eating enough. Overeating is another strategy used in homeless shelters by some individuals. They eat in excess to ensure they stay full until the next meal.

Stretching Food

Unlike other people, homeless shelter residents have to make their food last longer. They cut their portions per mealtime to ensure the food lasts until they find other food sources. Those relying on food stamps have to stretch available meals until the next food stamp. Others have to use soup kitchens as an alternative for missed meals.

Stealing Food from Shelter Houses

Emergency shelter houses have experienced theft by some of the habitants. Shelter houses have strict feeding times, and some children are prone to missing mealtimes. Therefore parents are forced to go for extra meals and sneak them out for their children.

Others sneak the meals out to eat at night since shelter homes don’t provide food at night. Authorities are concerned since some people opt to steal from food stores. This not only endangers their lives but could also see them arrested and leave their children behind without guardians.

Scavenging in Dumpsters

While some are lucky to have money from food stamps, others have nothing. They are forced to collect food from garbage centers. They target specific dumpsters to find the best food, such as the market where sellers discard fruits and vegetables. Restaurants and bakeries dumpsters are also targets for discarded foods like pizza bread and doughnuts.

While the food may not be suitable for human consumption, they don’t have better choices. Some people also go to food malls and disguise themselves with other food tasters. They move from counter to counter, tasting all the food until they are full. To make it worse, they tag their children along, thus risking their chances of getting lost.

Shopping Habits

People in home shelters must alter their shopping habits to make ends meet. They only buy what they need at a particular time. It’s impossible to store extra food due to a lack of food storage. To ensure maximum benefits of their stipends, they buy seasonal fruits and vegetables. Others have to take advantage of coupons to get extra shopping.

Begging

Food limitations in the shelters result in begging by some people. They wear tags to appeal for food donations from strangers. While some beg within the shelters, others opt to beg in the streets. Some will use their children to elicit sympathy from donors. People also take advantage of emergency assistance in Adelaide to access food. Living in home shelters has numerous effects. People lack the most basic provisions, such as food, and have to find other means of accessing it. Most people rely on food stamps and food provisions in the shelter. Since it’s not enough for everybody, they have to compensate by eating less and skipping some meals.