Ask away

Why burritos?
And who came up with this idea?

What political ideology (if any) do you guys believe in? i.e. are you anarchists, socialists, libertarians, democrats, republicans etc.

how many people do you feed a night, and what made you start this project

The project was adopted from a burrito project back in the early 90's in San Francisco. We didn't ever meet them but we hear they would raise money from selling mixed tapes and other things to fund their project.
We thought it sounded cool so we decided to start one in SanBernardino Ca. then in Los Angeles.
The story inspired us and we figured we could just carry on the project.

The project has no politics or faces.

And the third question..
Burritos are easy.. Please read the DIY. we answer this question there.

are you planning on making the project bigger? i mean get more people into the burrito project or is just friends who share an idea?

I know where I live there is a high number of homeless people and less fortunate and I would like to help, but the major areas that they populate are very high risk areas they are not very safe for people to just come into, I have noticed a lot feel like you are trying to make them feel worthless, when you are not trying to give them a handout but a hand-up, well my question is have you ever come across in danger situations when bring out your burritos and if so how did you handle it and do you have any suggestions for some one that would like to start some thing like this but safety is an issue

Whoever came up with the phrase “ a walk in the park” must have not had any homeless in their cities parks.
Yes, distributing food to the homeless can be very very dangerous. We do not want people thinking that what a burrito project is “ a walk in the park”. Well anyways..

The number one concern when you are distributing food to a homeless population is safety and the second is sanitation.
As said on the DIY and we should and will expand on this point of safety is that many members of a homeless population are not clean. Many homeless do not have regular access showers and other facilities that we take for granitite. Washing your hands and anything your hands come in contact with during your distribution cannot be over stressed.
Many of the places where a homeless population resides will be the most dangerous places in any city. They will be the areas with the highest crime rate. There are high numbers of addicts, dealers, and alcoholics on the streets. Drugs, alcohol are huge problem in a homeless population. There are also high numbers of mentally ill on the streets.

Be safe.
Look out for the other members in your group.
Do not go out alone, only in groups.

How we do it is if for some reason you can't get enough people to go out, our contingency plan is to bring the food to a shelter. We have rotated (when we have either had left over food or volunteer shortage) 3 different shelters in the city of Charlotte. All of them were not only receptive about receiving the food, but extremely happy about it. The one tip I have is, even though people may be outside, stop in the shelter 1st and let them know you are there. They will handle the distribution end how they choose. We have had expierences both ways...they either took it in to hand out themselves or let us distribute it. Safety is our number one concern! It is one thing to open your heart, it is foolish to put yourself in danger.

Do you have to apply for non~profit status? I was wondering because of donations, etc.

We have not done it yet here, but are thinking about it.

awesome... Im working on starting a project in my town. Unfortunatily i think the only problem we will have will be the city itself... and by the city I mean politics...
=(((

I like this thread... would you pin this one to the top? that way we could have a constant support thread... unless there is one, and i just missed it. XP

What does burrito project have to do with city politics?
Feed the people.
Be safe, don't be and get caught.

Nowhere does burrito project say to deal with city politics. The diy states, check your local laws. So check them and know what they are.
again

Feed the people.
Be safe, don't be and get caught.

how is the burrito project unlawful in some cities?

It is illegal to pass out food for free in most cities. They require very expensive permits, for us it’s a one million dollar bond to protect the city against lawsuits. It's a bunch of bullshit. There is no way a burrito project could afford this.
You will have to research your local laws to find out what you may need to be legal. If you can’t do it legally do be discouraged. Do it anyways. Just don't get caught. You can have a low profile project and never get hassled by anyone. This is just another reason why the no fame aspect of the project benefits their longevity. If no one is bragging about burrito project and if no one is claiming it to be theirs then people wont even know who you are.
If you are questioned by the police just say that you had a party and decided to hand out the left over food. Don’t say you are a member of burrito project and you pass out food every week, this is just asking for trouble.

Enough with all of the talkers. Go feed some people.

I don't really have a question so much as I wanted to offer some encouragement and say thanks for what you are doing.
About 8 years ago I lived on the streets of downtown Los Angeles and some of the people that you feed on a weekly basis are like family to me. Not to mention the fact that my mom is in government assisted housing just a few blocks from there. Thank you guys for showing that our generation does care about others and are trying to make a difference.
One Burrito at a time.
God Bless you guys!!