Five Myths About Panhandlers

[sir pball]

2. It's even odds as to whether food is accepted in NYC.

If we have a lot of leftovers at the end of the night (I cook) I usually pack up several to-go boxes full of good stuff to hand out if I see somebody on the way home. About half the time, it's turned down with a request for money instead.

Which I can't in good conscience do - while I certainly know that not all, or even most, indigents have substance abuse problems, I also know it's certainly not uncommon among them, and somebody who's turning down a full, fresh, sometimes even still hot meal to ask for a buck instead probably isn't hungering for food. The guy on the corner of 55th and 6th always takes the box, though