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?
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!
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. 
Hot Hands packs aren’t super expensive and would surely be enjoyed.
That’s a great idea hadnt thought of those!
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
Gonna put everything in backpacks i get from Thrift stores, the small medical kit is a good idea!
Nice! This is a really good thing you are doing.
In alot better place than I was a year ago, and want to pay it forward. Wish we could just tear this system down and rebuild it from the ground up to take care of people instead of our corporate overlords, but till that day I feel extremely blessed to be in a place to be able to help out like this. Even if i can only ease a few folks discomfort its better than wallowing in apathy and drinking everyday like i did for the past decade.
There was a thread about this yesterday that may have some additional ideas.
Oh snap, thanks dont know how i missed that.
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!!
My tip would be to work though 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.
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.
Cheap wine works wonders too
