paris

[Image ID: A series of screenshots capturing a long tweet by Fara Kaufman (@ justfara), which reads

“So, I spoke to people getting food at a food bank and here are some things I learned from those in need:

1. Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk and butter which is hard to get from regular food banks.

2. Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal which they also get a lot of.

3. Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles.

4. They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.

5. Oil is a luxury but needed for Rice a-Roni which they also get a lot of.

6. Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Christmas gift.

7. Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care.

8. Sugar and flour are treats.

9. They fawn over fresh produce donated by farmers and grocery stores.

10. Seeds are cool in Spring and Summer because growing can be easy for some.

11. They rarely get fresh meat.

12. Tuna and crackers make a good lunch.

13. Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef.

14. They get lots of peanut butter and jelly but usually not sandwich bread.

15. Butter or margarine is nice too.

16. Eggs are a real commodity.

17. Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child's birthday cake.

18. Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated.

19. Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that.

20. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.

In all the years I have donated food at the Holidays, I bought what I thought they wanted, but have never asked. I am glad I did. If you are helping a Family this Christmas, maybe this can help you tailor it more. It does for me!

At the bottom is a photo of a shelf at a food bank. Items on display include dry noodles, boxed stuffing mix, vegetable oil, dry beans, gravy mix, and various canned goods. Each item has a sign below it that reads “limit 1” or “limit 2”.

/End ID]

Since the holiday toy drive post is circulating again, I figured this would also be helpful! Food insecurity is such a massive problem in America, in general, and if you have the means to help feed others, I think you should take that opportunity. Here are some other tips:

1. If you’re planning on donating items from your own pantry, please check the expiration dates on the packaging. Think of your donations as gifts to bestow, not castoffs to be rid of. It’s awful to think of people feeling like they got scraps someone else just didn’t want. Everyone deserves dignity with their meals.

2. If you’d rather give money to a food bank, that’s also great since they buy food in bulk and know what items are most wanted/needed!

3. Not everyone has access to appliances like stoves or microwaves or hot plates so if you can donate items that don’t need to be heated up, that would also be greatly appreciated!

Anger/Angst Prompts (1,167 Prompts)

Apocalyptic World Prompts (318 Prompts)

Desperation/Fear Prompts (464 Prompts)

Enemies to Lover Prompts (665 Prompts)

Fluff Prompts (838 Prompts)

Gaslighting Prompts (170 Prompts)

Holiday/Seasonal Prompts (512 Prompts)

Horror Prompts (637 Prompts)

Hurt/Comfort/Jealousy Prompts (488 Prompts)

Mafia/Gangster/Mobster Prompts (652 Prompts)

Manipulation Prompts (347 Prompts)

Mythical Creatures Prompts (2062 Prompts)

Occupations Prompts (1131 Prompts)

Pirate Prompts (277 Prompts)

Possessive Prompts (320 Prompts)

Random Titles Prompts (2133 Prompts)

Royalty Prompts (537 Prompts)

Sci - Fi Prompts (409 Prompts)

Soulmate Au Prompts (667)

"is it rude if I politely ask a writer if they use ai or chatgpt on their works because I'm almost certain they do?"

yes, it is rude. no matter how polite you are being when you ask them this.

you say you are almost certain. so you are not absolutely certain.

unless you are absolutely, undoubtedly certain — with actual proof — that their writing is ai generated, never ever ask an artist if their work is ai generated.

I know several writers who would stop writing and delete all of their works if they were ever accused of using ai. so it doesn't matter if you are polite when you ask them this, you are suggesting that their works are ai generated, that they didn't create the works they could have spent hours, days, weeks, months or years working on.

ai and chatgpt are trained on real humans' works, they are trained to mimic the way real humans write. so if you say a genuine writer's work "looks ai", I'm gonna have to ask you what you think ai was trained on.

a writer whose English isn't their first language may also write in a way that "looks ai" to some, if they write in English and have to rely on translator.

using em dash isn't a sign of ai. I do it all the time. my fellow writers all love em dash.

having long paragraphs with "overly described scenes" isn't a sign of ai. I do it all the time, and so do my fellow writers.

all the "ai signs" are actually just what most writers actually do. they get mistaken for "ai signs" because sometimes the way writers write or describe a scene in a fanfic or an original work is different than the way people talk or text. because they're writing a fic and describing a scene, not chatting with a friend. the way I talk is different than the way I write my fics.

if you suspect a work was ai generated, but are not 100% sure, you can always just stop reading said work without saying anything.

if someone does use ai to write, they will either a.) deny and continue using ai to write or b.) admit because they see nothing wrong with it and continue using ai to write.

if a genuine writer was wrongly accused of using ai, they may stop writing altogether.

asking a writer if they use ai or chatgpt to write will always do more harm than good. witch hunting will always do more harm than good.