Street Charity is Atlanta’s newest nonprofit trying to help the hungry – and it’s doing it $5 at a time.
John and Antuanette Patton launched Street Charity officially in September, but the pair has spent decades feeding people in “every imaginable fashion.” But when they moved to Atlanta and started interacting with homeless people on the street, they decided to do more.
“We certainly knew that handing out dollar bills at the red light was not the answer,” John Patton said.
But John and Antuanette recognized that people don’t carry as much cash anymore, and some are hesitant to pass out money without knowing where it will go. John Patton said one man told him the “pull of drugs and alcohol is too strong” with cash.
“I just said, there has to be another way,” John Patton said.
The pair landed on a simple premise: $5 gift cards with tax that would work at any fast food restaurant chain that accepts Discover credit cards. If nobody uses the card, after six months the funds will revert to the nonprofit and go to local food banks.
It’s a response to the immediate need many people face on the streets. In 2024, the Department of Housing and Urban Development found over 2,800 people experiencing homelessness in Atlanta. Across the country, over 771,000 people are experiencing the same thing.
The Pattons know $5 gift cards can’t solve the hunger and housing crisis for tens of thousands of Americans. But it can put food in their stomachs.
“We use the word food insecure, and it’s a good word, but in reality, there are a lot of people that are full-on starving,” John Patton said. “This is the idea that they can fill their stomach, but also walk in as a patron and not a beggar.”
Antuanette did her research to find a number of restaurants with $5 meals, like McDonald’s and Dunkin’. Then she made a flyer with the chains that could feed somebody right away with a Street Charity card.
“We’re not fixing the whole problem of hunger because it’s so big,” Antuanette Patton said. “But it’s another tool, something else we can do.”
A few dollars can be a way to get food fast, and to get it as a customer. But it goes further – the Pattons see the cards as a way to give dignity back to people without homes.
“With these, we give them dignity,” Antuanette Patton said. “We give them the option to pick where they want to go, what they want to order, and when they want it.”
The cardholder then gets a place to sit and hide out from the rain or heat, too. John Patton said the high-calorie offerings and time inside work to tide over a person who may not know when they’re having another meal.
Of course, John Patton knows high-calorie options like a donut or French fries aren’t the most nutritious foods. He worked in public health for 15 years, preventing chronic disease, but his philosophy is simple.
“It struck me one day that nobody cares about their colonoscopy if they are starving,” John Patton said.
Street Charity has already passed out hundreds of cards and run a year-long pilot program. Recently, a donor paid for 250 cards to be passed out at a school in Cobb County. The Pattons handed them over to the counselors to give to young people in need. Corporations have also expressed interest in paying for cards so the employees can do “service-oriented” work.
To Antuanette Patton, it’s a chance for kids to hang out with their friends at a fast food spot after school, or a way for someone to get out of the rain. She said some people even choose to give out several cards at a time to pay for a bigger meal.
“The use of the card is sky is the limit,” Antuanette Patton said.
The Pattons said the nonprofit is still in “diapers,” but they have big plans for its future. So far, the cards have been used all across the country – even in Alaska. Major cities are popular hubs, and ever-present chains like McDonald’s get a lot of traffic.
“We really believe in, I’d like to say, a card in every wallet, a card in every car,” John Patton said. “I want people who pull up to a red light, whether they give it or not, to be equipped.”
Antuanette, who’s originally from Peru, sees it as a nonprofit with global potential. She also hopes to expand to transportation, hotels and higher-dollar cards.
“My dream is to have the cards work all over,” Antuanette Patton.
