Homelessness Research Paper

Homelessness and the Viability of Grassroots Sustainability Programs

According to National Resources Defense Council, “40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten” (Gunders 4). As good, edible food is being discarded, a survey by the United States Department of Agriculture revealed that, “97 percent [of people who identify as having very low food security] reported that…food…did not last, and they did not have money to get more” (“Definitions Of Food Security”). Food Forward, a local food recovery and food-sharing organization, simultaneously tackles these two issues by recovering excess produce from private properties, public spaces, farmers, and wholesale markets, and sharing them to the most food insecure in California, the

The homeless are often perceived to be “drunk, stoned, crazy, sick, and drug abusers by the media and by many social science researchers” (Eungjun ix). This image of the homeless creates the impression that the homeless are dangerous criminals, which evokes fear in residents of a community. Perhaps this perception of the homeless contributes to why many are hesitant to have association with the and subsequently any organization that requires contact with the homeless, as they perceive that some sort of risk to their safety is involved. As a result, we too-often quickly stigmatize the homeless and are subsequently unable to see them as potential victims who require help. For organizations like Food Forward, whose initiative involves interaction with homeless, this link of homelessness and fear leads insufficient support from the community. Hence, the perceived risk of associating with the homeless becomes an obstacle in increasing the viability of Food Forward and similar food recovery and food-sharing

Many believe that feeding the homeless will attract more homeless into urban areas and tarnish the public image of that area. As reported by The Columbian, downtown Washington resident, Daniel Mitchell states, “If you feed them, they will come. And stay. And get wasted, urinate, litter, fight, vandalize the place and intimidate people going to the farmers market, or a concert, or the kid-friendly fountain for some good clean fun” (Hewitt). This is not just an opinion held by residents of Washington; this sentiment is actually shared by many others living in an urban environment. Ultimately, food-sharing groups like Food Forwards are perceived to make the presence of the homeless more visible, by encouraging the congregation of the homeless towards urban areas where the food sharing is being conducted. As mentioned by Professor Jo Phelan, of Columbia University, the perception of the homeless is that they are “disruptive…[and] because of the difficulties involved in cleaning and grooming themselves…aesthetically unappealing,” therefore the increasing visibility of the homeless is deteriorating the image of the neighborhood, which is undesirable for many cities and its residents (Phelan