Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Lucky for me when that out of state cashiers check took 10 days to clear($450) I still had some oil and pop corn for a few days until I got my $450 and finally a job for $5 an hour. The rent on a 10th street apartment near 465 in Indianapolis was $285 a month.
That was the same time when I was low on cash I did not fill the gas tank. I finally was paid but did not have time to fill it that day. I actually ran out of gas but coasted into a gas station on the momentum. I walked across the street to a cash station.
There is no excuse for anyone in this country to go hungry, beg for food, or eat out of dumpsters.
The USDA has a good Food Stamp program and there are plenty of free food distribution programs sponsored by charitable and social service organizations.
If someone can't survive using the available resources, they probably need to be institutionalized.
There is no excuse for anyone in this country to go hungry, beg for food, or eat out of dumpsters.
The USDA has a good Food Stamp program and there are plenty of free food distribution programs sponsored by charitable and social service organizations.
If someone can't survive using the available resources, they probably need to be institutionalized.
Dear Freddy,
Perhaps you've never been in a position where you've been hungry or embarrassed about having no money?
When it happened to me, I lived in an upper-middle-class community and everyone I knew had jobs and plenty of food. I was too ashamed to tell them I was out of money. I felt like I was slipping through the cracks. I hope it never happens to you because it really is a bad feeling!
As for digging for food out of dumpsters, there is a group of people called Freegans who live off what others toss away. They routinely dig for food out of the dumpsters behind grocery stores, and they pull out some good stuff! Who knows! The way things are going, I may be joining them!
I was selling plasma for food and rent while in school, as I was flat broke.
I sold plasma for a while too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Freddy
There is no excuse for anyone in this country to go hungry, beg for food, or eat out of dumpsters.
The USDA has a good Food Stamp program and there are plenty of free food distribution programs sponsored by charitable and social service organizations.
I became homeless for a month and a half at age 18. I literally slept on the grass in a park (luckily it was summer in Texas). It happened pretty suddenly. I had little access to computers or phones or information on government programs, which I didn't know much about in the first place, and my family wanted nothing to do with me and I was in an unfamiliar city away from any friends. But I s'pose the fact that I got a job and managed to save up for an apartment means I was too good for the mental institution.
As for digging for food out of dumpsters, there is a group of people called Freegans who live off what others toss away. They routinely dig for food out of the dumpsters behind grocery stores, and they pull out some good stuff!
Sorry to hear that Woof X3. I've only been hungry once it's the worst feeling in the world, being homeless isn't even as bad.
Well I was in a transition phase and I just started working a measly paying job. I was homeless for a few days until I found a place to rent. A place where the homeless slept on our front doorstep. It was actually a government building for the underpriviledged families that qualified and let me tell you the person who rented the place was the biggest C-/*KS*%$-R ever. Not only did he take advantage of this place as he actually had a decent job (I believe he wouldn't have qualified if he had make a few dollars more), he wasn't supposed to rent it out either but he rented it out to the 3 of us in our early 20s. When I left the place I called the city and they eventually evicted him. Not the nicest things to do, but there are families that truley need the place.
Anyways I was working and was barely living on dollar to dollar when something unexpected happened, forgot what, but bank account was overdrawn and they charge you fees where it went down to negative, paycheck wasn't even until a week. I had a few dollars left in the pocket so I went to the supermarket and got whatever I could with it. A few packs of instant and microwavable food. Ran out and got sick of it by the last day so I only went hungry for a day. Anyways I was sick of that life and I moved, went to college, joined the reserves and worked a job on the side.
One of the jobs where I worked was a small hotel and I always gave food to the homeless whenever I saw them as we had breakfast for the guests daily and a lot of it goes to waste. I always try and volunteer at the homeless shelters as well, especially during the holiday season, if you been there you don't take it for granted.
Once. We were living in OR and my husband got laid off from the only major employer in the area. We ran out of food a few days after that, so I went to the local food shelf and they had no problem giving us food.
Personally I didn't feel embarrassed about it. It wasn't our fault that the company laid off. It's not like we wasted our money on drugs or something. I was pulling in a net paycheck of $600 a month. Our rent was $425. Luckily we had a wood stove so we were able to cut our heating bill way down and just use the wood piled around our rental trailer. Our electric was $60 a month and our phone was $15 a month. Our gas for the cars was about $50 a month and the insurance was about $100 a month. We couldn't get rid of the phone because people needed a way to get ahold of us. We had no tv, no internet, no cell phone, no eating out and no savings. We had no car payments but needed to put gas into the cars to go job searching and for me to get to work. We lived 30 miles from the nearest place that was hiring, so 2 times a week hubby would drive into the city and apply for all sorts of jobs. When the car broke down, we got lucky because my hubby's unemployment actually fixed our car for free. Of course it was a certain mechanic we had to go to and it took him about a month to finally get to it. Shortly after that my husband was hit by a truck and the car totaled. We had full coverage on it and with our settlement money we moved. Things are better now, but I remember and my pantry is full of canned goods as well as my freezer always being full of meat.
When it gets to the point of hunger, I think people need to stop thinking about what someone else might think of them. There is no shame in asking for help when you need it, nobody can do everything all the time.
Yes, for a number of years after I left home there were times when a meal was ketchup sandwiches and soup made from ketchup and water. Tough times.
There are places that will help (getting fewer and farther between with the economy in the crapper) that will supply a meal, but it does require a bit of pride swallowing.
Some churches have programs set up, but I won't accept anything from a church, I'll beg on a corner first.
I'm just wondering how many people have experienced hunger and poverty? Have you ever been out of work and wondered how you could buy your next meal?
I have, and you never forget that feeling. It was humiliating and embarrassing and I was too ashamed to tell anyone. I would dream about food all the time, and try to imagine ways to steal it or get it for free.
One day, all I wanted was a cup of coffee. I walked up to a little coffee shop and asked for a free cup of coffee. I must have mumbled because the person behind the counter didn't quite hear me. He put down a small cup and said, "That'll be 90 cents please!" I looked down into the coffee and said, "I was hoping you would give me a cup for free. I don't have any money." He looked at me disdainfully and said, "Okay! But this is the last time!"
I walked away humiliated and sat down on the edge of the sidewalk to drink my coffee.
Has anyone had a similar experience?
I personally have not been in that position because I have been very fortunate in my life. However, when I was growing up my parents had some pretty hard times when they depended on the kindness of other people just to survive. But the world was a much kinder place then.
As for your adventure. You should have offered to work for your coffee and you might have snagged a job that provided you with one meal a day. I have never seen a restaurant or diner that did not need it's floors swept/mopped or bathrooms cleaned. Instead of asking for charity, you might have sat down with the owner/manager and see if you couldn't have worked something out.
20yrsinBranson
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
