Run a feeding in her name

Pick a day. Her birthday (14 October), the day she passed (28 June), or any day that's yours to give.

Choose what you're giving. Two good options, and you can do both:

• A meal. Hot food you cooked, or store-bought sandwiches and fruit. Simple and filling beats elaborate.
• Care kits. Small bags of food, water, and hygiene items people can carry. Good when you won't stay long.

Go with someone if you can. It's safer, and the work is lighter shared. Bring more than you think you need, and expect to talk to people, not just hand things over.

The needs on the street are consistent: food, water, hygiene, and dry socks. Build around those.

Food & water

• Bottled water, the single most asked-for item in warm weather
• Non-perishable, ready-to-eat food: protein bars, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, jerky, crackers
• Hot meals if you're serving on the spot

Hygiene

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
• Bar soap or body wash, deodorant, wet wipes
• Lotion, lip balm, sunscreen
• Feminine hygiene products, razors
• Dry shampoo, which works when there's no shower

Warmth & carry

• Socks, thick or wool. The most requested clothing item, year-round
• Winter: gloves, hats, hand warmers, rain ponchos
• Summer: extra water, sunscreen, electrolyte packets
• A resealable gallon bag or small backpack to hold each kit

One card that lasts past today

• A printed resource card: local shelter, meal, shower, and laundry info, plus 2-1-1, the national line for finding services

If you're handing out food you prepared, a few rules keep people from getting sick.

• Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds before handling food. Sanitizer helps but doesn't replace it.
• Mind the danger zone. Bacteria grow fast between 40°F and 140°F. Keep hot food hot (140°F or above) and cold food cold (40°F or below).
• The 2-hour rule. Don't serve perishable food that's been sitting out more than 2 hours. Cut that to 1 hour if it's above 90°F outside.
• Use gloves or tongs for anything ready-to-eat, like bread, fruit, or sandwiches.
• Carry hot food in an insulated bag or cooler with ice packs for cold items.

How you give matters as much as what you give. The point is one person treating another as an equal.

• Ask before you give. "Would you like some water?" not a thing pushed into someone's hands.
• Make eye contact. Use a name if it's offered. A short conversation is often worth more than the kit.
• Don't photograph people or their belongings. Their hard day is not your content.
• Offer, don't preach. No strings, no conditions, no sermon attached to a meal.
• Respect a no. Some people will decline. That's theirs to decide.

This is the part that outlives any one of us. When you log a feeding, the next person knows that corner was cared for, and Najat's name is on the record.

You'll note four things, and nothing that identifies the people you served:

• Where, kept rough on purpose: a block, a park, an intersection. Never where someone sleeps.
• When, the date you went.
• In whose name you fed, so the memorial grows with each one.
• What you gave: meals, water, hygiene kits, socks.