Wanting to put together some backpacks filled with cold weather stuff like hats gloves and a thrifted puff jacket to hand out to the Homeless in my area, what are some other inexpensive items you would recommend I put in them?
Chemical based hand warmers. They look like tough-built teabags. Get them at any Home Depot or Lowes.
Also McDonalds cheeseburgers are nice. Where I’m at, they’re buy one, get one for $1. I can get 4 of them for $8. When I was homeless, I was calorically restricted and it sucked so much. One day there was a guy handing out McDonalds cheeseburgers from a big bag, and it was the best thing.
Those things are so calorically dense and heavy.
My tip would be to work through an organization that already does this. Stay safe.
I take the metro into the city every other week to visit museums, my plan is to take the pack and give to one of the many homeless people i see before i make it into the city every time. I doubt I will make it off the metro before handing it off. And dont worry safety never takes a holiday.
Dry socks, like a whole pack.
Tarp
Thick garbage bagsSterno. That stuff saved my life when I was homeless.
Had never heard of those, will be sure to include them!!
Socks, granola bars, fruit snacks, snickers, wipes, hand warmers, maybe refillable water bottles?
Hadn’t thought of wipes, thats a good addition!
There are regular wipes (like unscented baby wipes), but you can also buy more heavy duty wipes that are designed (marketed) for cleaning yourself. Just search like “no rinse sponge bath wipes” or “body wipes” and you’ll see what I mean. Might be a good idea to include both. You could probably clean your hands off with 1-2 smaller wipes and not have to use up one of the larger ones each time. Just my thoughts. Love what you’re doing!
refillable water bottles are good if there’s a local way to refill them from a clean source.
Our subway system has water fountains at alot of the stations, was gonna try and include one filled with individual flavor packets.
Flavor packets sound nice but could introduce unforeseen issues for those with dietary constraints. But that’s your choice. 
Socks, especially warm ones.
Thanks! Socks had honestly slipped my mind.
Wool if possible, because it warms even when wet unlike cotton.
No doubt! Cotton kills, if i put any socks in there they will be thick and wool!
There was a thread about this yesterday that may have some additional ideas.
Oh snap, thanks dont know how i missed that.
Cheap wine works wonders too
I’m going to borrow some other suggestions that I just read as well, but maybe a survival backpack would be really helpful?
Backpack
Blanket
Hand warmers
Small medical kit
multi-tool
flashlight
re-usable water bottle
wet wipes
Something like the powerbank/hand warmers would have been a lifesaver when I was going through it. A powerbank that can also keep you warm. Lots of places have free usb outlets to charge devices, most homeless people have phones.
Something like this, though you may find them cheaper on ebay or such: https://www.amazon.com/NUEAYMS-Compact-Enthusiasts-Adjustable-Temperature/dp/B0CSN7CK7G/
