5:53 p.m. – I’m on the subway packing the sandwiches, along with juice boxes and Rice Krispies, into the paper bags. I get a couple of strange looks, and tell myself to be thankful that there aren’t more people on the train.

6:37 p.m. – After arriving at St. Patrick’s, I meet with a group of about 20 youth and adults. Lucio Abbruzzesse, the Street Patrol organizer, gathers us in for a quick orientation and prayer. “Street Patrol is more than just giving out food,” he tells the group. “If you can make someone smile… that’s what we’re really about.” Hunger is not just for food, but for love, he tells us as he reads a prayer from Mother Teresa. We’re sent off and begin our walk to the Metropolitan United Church where there are a lot of homeless.

6:57 p.m. – On our way, we run into our first customer. Someone asks him if he’d like a sandwich and his face lights up. “Certainly!” Any nervousness I have quickly goes away as he thanks us for our hospitality.

7:16 p.m. – We arrive at the church and split up into smaller groups. Three of us head to the front steps, where a man is sitting and talking on his cellphone. I’m too embarrassed to ask if he’d like a sandwich, though Lucio told us we’d be surprised that people with phones will sometimes be in need too. I tell the other two that we should move on, but they approach him anyway. “I’d rather embarrass myself and ask than miss someone who really needs it,” one of them says. Now I’m embarrassed anyway.

7:26 p.m. – The group congregates near a set of chess tables where people — homeless and not — are playing. There’s a man on his bike watching one of the matches with four of our granola bars, though everyone keeps offering more. Laughing, he refuses and says, “Now, that would just be greedy.”

7:50 p.m. – At Moss Park, our next stop, I meet a young woman named Cate. She gratefully accepts a sandwich and sees my camera. “Can you take my picture?” she asks me. I oblige and snap a few photos. I can’t help but think of the prayer from Mother Teresa we said earlier as she smiles and thanks me.

7:54 p.m. – A few of us approach a man lying on the grass. After giving him food, one of the girls says, “Your tan is so beautiful.” He laughs quietly and replies, “I’ve been outside too long.”

8:01 p.m. – Across from Moss Park is a Salvation Army shelter, where we meet a group of homeless who manage to finish off the food we’ve brought. I look at the shelter and realize that by tomorrow they will be hungry again. For me, it’s a few hours on a Wednesday night. For them, it’s life.

8:14 p.m. – Out of food and at the end of our route, our group leader thanks us and invites us back next week. I’ve still got 92 more paper bags — I guess I’ll be there.