JWR,
As I was reading the letter about the Vancouver riots, the part about the homeless man reminded me of one of the ways I rotate the food in my bug out bag (BOB). I know that a lots of people don’t like to give money to beggars, because they don’t want them to just buy booze. I also know that many people don’t use the food in their BOB (I’ve personally seen some rather old, funky smelling granola bars). Yes, I know you can use them when you go camping or hiking for practice, or just have MREs or freeze dried food that doesn’t need to be rotated very often, but I don’t have the money for MREs and I like to eat better than that when I camp.
So what I do is when I rotate things that expire, like granola bars or fruit leathers, is I put them in my car and/or my purse. Then, if I see someone asking for handouts, I ask them if they would like some food. I’ve never had anyone turn me down. That way the food doesn’t go to waste, and you feel good about helping someone in need. This is a “win-win” solution. – Sarah M.