If you follow this blog, and possibly you enjoy my meal plans (they’re the best thing since sliced bread, yes?), you may have noticed that we missed a couple posts recently. We missed a lot of things, and homelessness is why. Not a fun thing, being homeless, and the best thing you can do is to learn a little more about the families who struggle with this issue and what they go through.

What do you mean, you liar-pants, you ask.

Shocking, but true. For months I created a meal plan full of tasty things that are good for you and cheap. But that’s not what we were eating. Oh, no. I drooled over those meal plans. It was torture window shopping for Food.

What were you eating, you ask.

We were eating lots of white food. Lots of things from boxes. Whatever we got from the food pantry. Pasta, potatoes, rice, cereal, bread. Starch and carbs and gluten, oh my! We were lucky, you get a lot of protein in this area. But almost no vegetables. What’s the biggest section of the USDA’s My Plate plan? Vegetables. Not that your body needs those or anything.

Why would you do that, you ask.

Because we’re Poor, that’s why. Normal, educated, perfectly nice people can be poor, too. And when life throws a curveball at poor people, they tend to get even more poor. We went from mostly comfortable, if not roomy in our budget, to oh-sweet-jebus I need more money right freakin’ now. While we recovered from our financial boo-boo, the food budget was exploded.
Normal, educated, perfectly nice people can be poor, too.
(Tweet: Normal, educated, perfectly nice people can be poor, too. http://goo.gl/HNzQBJ #homelessnessstinks @MoreWithLessMom)

So why should I care, you ask.

You should care because it can happen to anyone. Your precious little bundles are well-fed and warm and happy. But what would happen if you lost your job, your house burned down, you got hurt, your spouse passed suddenly, or some other calamity befell you? In the blink of an eye you can lose everything. The support of food pantries, and the other charities out there helping, is vital to families who are struggling.

So what can I do, you ask.

You can donate to or volunteer at your local food pantry.
You can extend some kindness to someone you know is struggling.
You can make an effort and step in the next time you see someone in need. The single mom at the grocery store, the neighbor in the run-down house, the guy sleeping in a doorway on your way home from work. You never know another’s troubles, or how much a small gesture might mean to them.

Donate to Feeding America’s Great American Milk Drive

Homelessness stinks.

Advocating for the working poor and affordable housing in New Hampshire. Championing homeless families in NH.

Also see

Want to Know What the Homeless REALLY Want in Care Packages? The Real Deal From a Mama Who Has Been There.

Care Package for the Hard Times Kitchen – The Challenge

An Exercise in Sympathy for the Homeless: Explode Your Budget

Random Acts of Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar – RACK Printables, Cover Photos, and Links

Photo credits: Cooking housewife from The Graphics Fairy

We hope you enjoyed our The Meal Plan is a Lie (Being Homeless Stinks) post

© Written by Melissa French, The More With Less Mom