How to do it:

Between furloughs, rising prices and unemployment, and the willful termination of SNAP benefits, there are a lot of newly hungry families. The first visit to a food bank can be bewildering, and learning to cook on a limited budget takes skill. While families adjust, supplement in ways that feel accessible. Grocery stores have long had a “free cookie at the bakery” policy for kids, and some now have a bowl of bananas or oranges for hangry toddlers. We can do the same: put out an attractively displayed bowl of snacks or pantry of easily prepared foods with a welcoming sign.

If you have a little free library near a bus stop, this is a fantastic opportunity. Stock granola bars or other quick snacks with a friendly sign “Long day at school? Enjoy an after-school snack.” For kids going home to empty shelves this can be a real boon. (Ask neighbors if they’ll pitch in a box of snacks weekly.)

Getting food to the people who need it is about dignity, too. Look for ways to support local families as they move through their day, without it being “a whole thing.”