Although food is a common element of our every day lives, it has become something we often take for granted. These stories about random acts of kindness involving food will show not only the power of kindness, but how important food is in all aspects.
Christmas Tree

“One afternoon in mid-December I went into a cafe at the coast for a late lunch. An elderly couple came in, clearly regulars, the hostess greater them by name and sat them at their usual table. After a while, a waitress came out and went over to talk to them. She said ‘last time you said that you wouldn’t be able to get a tree this year, so we got you a little something.’ She and another girl then brought out a tabletop tree already decorated with ornaments. Made me cry” (source).
Jamba Juice

“This past summer at Jamba Juice where I work at, I was working register when one of our regular customers came in. His name was Harvell and we always greeted him when he came in. This day was just a normal day like any other. He came in, ordered his usual, then left with a smile on his face. About five minutes later he walks back in. This surprised me and I thought that maybe he wanted his smoothie remade or something. As he got closer to the register, I noticed that he had a homeless man walking behind him. He then proceeded to tell the man to pick whatever he wanted to eat and drink. To see the smile on that man’s face when I gave him his food really made me smile” (source)
Winning the Lottery

“I live in China. I saw a homeless man on the way home, this is odd as it’s not really the city center or a train station but very very residential. I told my wife I wanted to buy him noodles. So, I bought him some fried noodles, milk and I took one of my cigarettes for him. After offering him the stuff, he stumbled to say thank you. When he got the words back, he just bowed to me. I will never forget that face. It was pure joy… I gave him milk, noodles, and a cigarette yet he looked like he just won the lottery” (source).
Angel and Ryder

“There’s a Five Guy’s where I live, and across the street, a Walmart. Behind the Walmart there is a fairly large homeless community living in the woods where the land owner gave “permission” of sorts. One Day I was walking out of FG with my ex-girlfriend and a homeless man approached me asking for money, I denied but offered to buy him some food, he happily obliged and that’s how I knew he wasn’t just asking for drug money. Angel, walked on crutches and a worn out cast that needed to be taken off and his Chocolate lab carried some of his goods. He ended up telling me his life story and about how his wife died in a car accident and the dog that was with him that day sat by his wife’s side as she died. Completely random homeless dog found the car crash before anyone else. The dog stayed with him ever since, following him through depression, job loss, and eventually homelessness. I had a 75 dollar gift card to FG, some of it just used, and I bought the man a burger for himself and his friend back at the camp. I told my ex to wait in the car and follow if needed as I walked around the corner to Petsmart with the man and bought his dog the biggest bag of food I could find, the employee saw what I was doing and gave it to him for free. Angel would not stop thanking me and to my ex’s dismay I offered him a ride home as she arrived, he denied with a laugh saying that he doesn’t get into strangers’ cars. We fed the dog and Angel split the food into packs so he and the dog could carry it, I gave him the rest of the gift card and told him that I would make sure he would always be fed if he NEEDED it. He was a holy man through this entire experience and he gave his word. I opened a “tab” at Five guys with the manager and asked him to help the man any time he came in, as to not hassle customers anymore. Win-win for the store. Every month I go in and pay, each time no more than a few burgers taken off, with the exact toppings Angel got that first day I met him. I haven’t had the chance to meet Angel again, but every time he picks up his food he leaves a napkin withGod Bless You written on it. I am not a religious man but I take the message to heart. That is the kindest thing I have ever done and I hope I made a difference him his life for whatever reason. And it turns out, Petsmart feeds his dog regularly now as well. I’ll never forget Angel and his dog, Ryder” (source).
Dining Like Family

“During Christmas holidays, my parents and I dined in an Italian restaurant downtown. As we were all enjoying our food, across from our table to the other side of the room, I saw a mother and daughter who were dressed quite well dining with a homeless man dressed in rags and pieces of clothing. You could see that they came from two different places in life. They sat there and ate, talked, and laughed as if they were family. It was a beautiful sight to see. As they finished their food, the mother ordered a full to-go plate for the man. My family and I had left before they did, but seeing that…I believed I had truly witnessed what the Christmas spirit is all about” (source).
It’s On Mickey!

“Was at Disneyland, in line for the Churro cart, This father was in line with his kid buying churros and drinks. He orders a coke for his wife and daughter (who were holding spots for fireworks) and 3 churros. The kid wanted a sprite so his dad orders sprite. It was like $15, the guy pulls his wallet and had like $12. He bends down and tells his kid, ‘I’m really sorry son, daddy is out of money, we don’t have enough money to buy the sprite, daddy will make it up to you.’ The kid starts crying and his dad didn’t know what else to do. At this point, the cashier told him, take the sprite, it’s on Mickey! The father just started tearing up a bit and gives the kid a sprite and the kids all happy again. The father thanks the cashier over and over again as they prep the churro for him. It put a tear in my eye too…” (source).
True Lesson Learned

“Was in Philadelphia for a friend’s birthday, out on the town drinking and such when I got into a big argument with my girlfriend that resulted in me leaving alone. After walking a few blocks I realized I had no idea how to get back to the hotel we were staying at and my phone was dead. As I stood at the street corner with a confused look on my face, an older man with a gruff voice came out of nowhere and said to me ‘Ay young fella you look out of sorts , you need some help?’ After explaining to the stranger my predicament and giving him a vague idea of where I needed to get to, he said he would be glad to walk with me back in the general direction; being drunk I thought nothing of it and over the 15-20 blocks that we marched over I learned a lot about my new acquaintance Horace. He was surprisingly articulate and quick to blame himself for his homelessness, explaining how he had failed as a husband and a man and that he had no one to blame but himself, but that he was trying day by day to better himself. He was funny and charming, and helped cool me down from the fight with my girl. As we reached my hotel I thanked him for the company and asked in my drunken stupor if there was anything I could do for him, in a look of surprise he managed to stammer out, ‘Well uh, this may be a little much but a decent shirt and a bite to eat would go a long way for this bag of bones, ‘ and I watched him eye up the Wawa across the street. I was taken aback as all signs seemed to have been pointing to him asking for money or booze up til that point. So I asked what he wanted and he requested a few things that I tacked onto my bill. I came out with the food and removed the undershirt I had on beneath my button up and handed them all to him and said thanks again for the help and the laughs. He looked at me with a tear in his eye and said something I will never forget: ‘No, thank you son, for taking the time to acknowledge this old fool. You have no idea how much it meant to me just to have you listen to me and not look at me like I’m some sh*t you just peeled off your shoe.’ I just stood there floored by his words and managed to sputter out something along the lines of it was what anyone should do for a fellow human, to show them the respect they want in return. We went our separate ways and I sat on my hotel bed minutes later, staring into nothingness feeling as if I was the one who had been lucky to meet this man that night. Horace will probably forget me in time, but I will never forget him” (source).
Right Thing To Do

“My dad used to go into McDonald’s for lunch periodically and there was a homeless man who lived around there. The people at McDonald’s have him a cup so each day he could fill it with water and have something to drink. So while he was in the bathroom my dad went and bought 3 Big Macs, large fries, and a large drink, and gave it to him. The guy was overjoyed and cried and was thanking him and all, and my dad just said ‘it’s just the right thing to do.’ Also at this time my parents were pretty poor, as in ketchup on bread poor” (source).
Single Piece of Fruit

“In Cambodia, I gave a plate of fruit to a little girl on the street. She ran off with and went to share it with 3 other kids. When she returned the plate, she had left a single piece of fruit on the plate: it is considered rude there to empty your plate since it means you haven’t had enough. Made my eyes watery” (source).
Can’t Let A Child Go Hungry

“My grandparents from Asia like to get coffee at McDonald’s because they have a senior citizen discount (not to mention my grandma likes the americano). As the three of them sat at a table just chatting casually, they see a father and a young daughter (elementary school age) going from table to table. My brother noticed that the father was going through people’s abandoned trays of food and handed off any edible leftovers to his daughter. Upon telling my grandparents this, my grandpa immediately went back to the counter and ordered full meals for both the father and the daughter. My brother brought the tray over to them and handed it off to them. At first, the father refused because, in Asian culture, it’s almost a given to refuse an offering. But my grandpa explained that it wasn’t right to let a child go hungry. After a bit of persuasion, the father finally took the tray and the two had their first decent meal in days” (source).
Really Nice Guy In A Terrible Situation

“A couple of years ago, my girlfriend (at the time) and I were leaving a bar one cold as sh*t winter night. As we approach the parking lot where we had parked, I noticed an old frail looking man sitting on a bench in front of the grocery store huddled up, visibly frozen, slowly munching on a loaf of bread one slice at a time. It was heartbreaking because he was obviously underdressed and homeless. I on the other hand was fully clothed, hammered and still freezing. As my girlfriend went to grab the car, I approached the man to see if he was ok and needed anything. He simply replied, in a quite and meager voice, “No, I’m ok thanks” not once making eye contact. Obviously embarrassed he didn’t seem too keen on making himself a bother. It was clear he was not ok and was cold as shit and hungry. So I ran across the street to the pizza place, ordered a large pizza, some drinks, waited for the order and made my way back. I handed him the pizza and I’ll never forget the look on his face as his eyes welled up and he placed the hot pizza on his lap for immediate warmth. Not saying a word I just sat with him as he slowly opened the box and grabbed a slice. We chatted, about nothing in particular, just enough to show this poor old guy that he hadn’t been forgotten or passed by due to his misfortunes in life. After 2-3 pieces, I asked him where he was staying, and he said ‘here and there.’ I offered to take him down the street to a motel for the night were we would drop him off and take care of the room for him. He replied ‘No thank you son, you have done enough. I have been through this before and will be just fine.’ After several attempts of trying to change his mind, It was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere so I simply put out my hand, shook his, wished him the best, and was on my way. As I walked to the car, I could hear him sob in the background as I walked away, which in turn made me tear up a bit. I will never forget that profound affect that man had on me, and often think about how he made out that winter and what he may be up to today. Never got his story, as he wasn’t keen on sharing, but he was a really nice guy who was in a terrible situation” (source).
Extra Taco Bell

“One day after going to taco bell and ordering about a dozen things, one of my friend decided to save about three of his tacos, and later we found a homeless man on a street asking for money as we were approaching this man, my friend took out all three of his tacos and gave it to him. Now it’s not that my friend giving his food that moved me, it was the look on the homeless man’s face, it looked like we gave him a car instead of food” (source).
World Cup Friends

“I was in Cape Town, South Africa for the World Cup and everything happens on Long Street. All the bars, all the parties, but also all the beggars. After a certain point you just learn to tune them out. So one night I am walking down and this kid comes up to me and says, can I please just get some milk. Most people grab at you, ask for money, pop, etc. Nobody has ever asked for milk. This kid could not have been over 8 years old, at 2:00 in the morning, asking for milk. We were right by a shop so I take him in and get him milk, cereal, some fruit, and some candies. Kid is in shock, says thank you over and over again. Couple nights later, I see the same kid, he had waited where he met me a few nights before. Runs up and gives me this huge hug, just says thank you. Well we are practically best friends now so we go over and get a hot dog together and we start talking. Kid ends up inviting me to his house the next night so his mom could say thanks. In hindsight this was a horrible idea as I could have gotten killed, but I agreed. So the next day I meet the kid in the same place and we go back to his “house” in the absolute hood of Cape Town. I meet his mom and younger brother and have a horrible dinner that she took so much pride in preparing, and just talked for hours. Gave them like $100 bucks and wished them luck. Kid really opened my eyes and humbled me. Great experience” (source)
Enjoying A Meal

“This reminds of a time I was walking down town Toronto, and passed by a man who was clearly homeless, sitting on a bench. As I was passing the homeless man, I noticed another guy coming out of a pizza joint with a slice a pizza and a pop for himself, and he had another one for the homeless man. He didn’t just hand it to him, but he gave it to him and sat down with him, and just started talking with him like a friend. One of the kindest acts I have seen” (source).