// If a person has the time and the ability, giving food instead of money to someone begging for food is an option. For those who don't have that time to have extra food on hand and to distribute it to those they see on the street, another option is gift cards. About as much as a person would donate (whatever they are comfortable with) possibly a gift card to a cheep restruant (like a fast food chain) or a gift card to a local grocery store.//

Both excellent forms of charity, NNS. :)

But whatever you do, don't donate to canned food drives:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbYInILDj6Q

offered to buy a meal for a beggar outside McDonalds once. He told me he would not eat that American garbage. Also had pleasure of delivering a bag of rice to some folk in Indonesia. They were so thankful for so little. Makes you wonder.

I always manage to find some money in my purse and
I give what I can. I also don't ask them on what
they're going to spend it. I don't feel it's my
place to do that.

Toni seems bitter that people can do what they like with their money. No doubt he overlooks the likelihood that people who tithe are more than likely to give far more to the poor than god deniers etc. In actual fact the god deniers usually luv to spend other peoples money. I wonder how much the $300000 to $400000 a year marxist at the abc give away.

I think that the answer lies in donor fatigue.

While I have done my share of soup kitchen work, door knocking for red-shield, and have regular contributions to half a dozen charities, I am now finding that this gives me no immunity from the 10 or so phone calls at night or being accosted at shopping malls for further donations so much so that have turned off the ringer on my phone with a message to phone my mobile, have ad blockers on my PC and a sign at my door listing my present charities and advising door knockers to leave their material at the door.

Charity has now become such a profitable industry that it has become a scourge, and those that do donate are pursued for ever more donations until they turn away completely.

With our generous welfare system, the only reason for anyone in Australia to be hungry is self caused.