Here is a nice article about three people who are fighting hunger in the US. What I like about these stories, apart from the fact that they are generally uplifting and faith-restorative, is that the people featured have a deep respect for the agency and dignity of the people they're helping.
One of the best ways to empower people is to empower them. That sounds like the most obvious statement in the world, but a lot of charitable organizations have not historically been particularly interested in providing decision-making opportunities to the people they're helping.
There has been a whole lot of trying to be a savior rather than being a partner, a whole lot of behavior policing rather than listening.
That habit of many traditional charities, by the way, is a big part of why conservatives assert that a robust social safety net will "entrench dependence," or some variation thereof—because that's what old-school moralizing charities do, when they fail to empower people with choice. And when our state welfare programs get cluttered with work requirements and dictate how money can be spent, we get similar results.
Most people, given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves, will make the best decisions for themselves.
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