FEATURE/A recipe for daily life: Taipei's homeless struggle to find food

By Sunny Lai and Rick Yi, CNA staff reporters

Unlike most Taipei residents, Chang Yun-hsiang's (張雲翔) first view in the morning is the open sky. His alarm is the sound of increasing vehicular and pedestrian traffic near Taipei Main Station, where he sleeps on the street a block away.

After he gets up, he greets his homeless friends who sleep on the same street, then he sets off to find his first meal of the day.

"I usually buy a bun or a sandwich for NT$49 (US$1.60) at a nearby FamilyMart," said Chang, one of the roughly 3,000 registered homeless people in Taiwan.

"Whatever food or drinks I want, I have to find a way to get them. I can't rely on social workers, because their help is limited," he told CNA reporters who followed him around for a day.

Chang, 39, has been homeless since he was 17, when he ran away from home after enduring years of domestic violence.

Due to a heart condition, he cannot work for any extended period and instead does odd jobs to help buy his meals.

After breakfast on a Tuesday morning, he hops on a train and heads to Wanhua District, where he works in a soup kitchen from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Tuesday, heating up bread in an oven for distribution to disadvantaged people, along with boxed meals.

At the end of that stint, he is paid NT$300 and given one of the boxed lunches.

Chang said he is grateful for the chance to serve other disadvantaged people, including the homeless and elderly people living alone.

From starving to serving

As Chang eats his lunch, which he says is "very healthy" because of the vegetables it contains, he describes what it was like to go without food for several days at a time when he had no money.

"It was so painful, and my stomach kept growling," Chang said. "I really wanted something to eat, but all I had was water."

After lunch, he returns to Taipei Main Station, where there is a homeless community space called "A clean, well-lighted place," which is managed by the nonprofit group Do You A Flavor.

Chang works there three hours a day, three days a week, cleaning the restrooms and tidying up the shared space.

"Once the work is done, I finally have time to eat," he said, as he tucks into a boxed meal that was brought to him, as usual, by a friend called "Brother Wu" (吳).

The boxed meal, distributed by nonprofit organizations to homeless people in the Taipei Main Station area, contained tofu and fish, which Chang said tasted "really good."

The real problem

Tsai Ming-chieh (蔡明潔), manager of the nonprofit Wanderers' Lodge, told CNA that in Taipei, where about 18 percent of the country's homeless people are located, a relatively small number go without food.

The real problem is "the imbalance of resources," as homeless people sometimes receive three meals a day, and at other times they get only one boxed meal a day, Tsai said.

That happens because of the irregularity of food donations, she said, explaining that during festive periods such as Lunar New Year there is a surge in donations, while at other times they are scant.

"When large amounts of food come in all at once, we often hear the homeless brothers and sisters say they simply cannot eat that much," Tsai said. "They want to take it, but they just can't."

"After that wave of donations ends, there are many days when it seems like everyone has already given all they can," which often leaves the homeless with little to eat after the holiday periods, she said.

'A bridge that connects hearts'

Feeding the homeless is not just about quantity, however, but must also focus on quality, according to Winny Wen (溫佩瑾), founder of the Ark Volunteer Team.

Wen said that her team usually declines donations of sweet items such as cakes for the homeless.

"Their teeth are already in poor condition, and too many carbohydrates, sweets, or sugary drinks are not good for them, so I try my best to turn down those types of donations," she said.

Wen's team has been serving porridge to homeless people in the Taipei Main Station area since 2017, and now does so every Tuesday evening.

Food is "a bridge that connects people," she said, adding that homeless people feel joy in eating a meal prepared for them, as "a meal can open their hearts."

After distributing the porridge, her team members usually eat and talk with the homeless, Wen said. This allows the team to assist with needs beyond food, such as shower facilities and short-term accommodation.

Wen said that during her many years of volunteer work, she has learned that the public's perception of the homeless is crucial.

It is important for the public to understand that many homeless people are striving to get back on their feet, and the fact that they need help does not mean they are lazy, she said.

"In Taiwan, food is not really a big problem," Wen said. "What matters is care, respect, and equal treatment without prejudice. That's something everyone can do."

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