Homeless Teen Goes Viral With 19M Views After Showing How He Prepares His Food
People become homeless for various reasons, but regardless of the motive, the need to survive is real. This homeless teenager decided to open a TikTok account and show how he cooks his meals and on how little a person can survive when in need. Calling himself @randomhomelessguy2, he now has nearly 580k followers for having only 3 videos.
His first TikTok was viewed more than 18.5m times. You can check out the cost-efficient meals he prepares using only a few things below and share your thoughts in the comments.
More info: TikTok
This homeless teenager shared a video that went viral overnight of how he cooks meals in a park
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
The hardship of being homeless is unfortunate, but this TikTok user decided to share how he prepares meals and actually does that with a very tight budget. The teenage @randomhomelessguy2 posted his first TikTok showing how he sets everything up for cooking in a local park that is equipped with power outlets and has drinking water fountains.
He uses water from drinking fountains and has bought an electric cooker, which he plugs into an outlet in a public park
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
He starts the video by plugging in his cooker, bought for 15 dollars at Walmart and fills up a $3 pot with water he got from a water fountain. He then chops up hot dogs with a plastic knife, adds noodles and pasta sauce—all 1 dollar each. Some of the users note that @randomhomelessguy2 cooks better than they do when he whips up a meal that cost him 3 bucks.
He cuts up the hot dog sausages with a plastic knife
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
All of the ingredients he used for cooking in this video were $1 each
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
The comments were exploding with concerned people suggesting to set up a GoFundMe, CashApp, and Venmo for him and his mother in order to add some cash to his daily budget.
Although some people were feeling quite altruistic, some users suggested he should sell his phone in order to have more money and even questioned the authenticity of his homelessness as he can afford to have a cellphone.
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
No pasta is complete without a sauce
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
One TikTok user, @sovietman535, questioned how the teenager is homeless and is still making TikToks, to which @randomhomelessguy2 answered with another video. According to the homeless teenager, he has an iPhone 11 that his mom bought for him last year at the beginning of 2020 before becoming homeless—and it has been his most cherished item that he has ever owned. In the comments, he thanked everyone for the concern, but declined the financial help.
And the meal is ready!
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
The TikTok video showing how the homeless teenager prepares his meals now has 19m views
@randomhomelessguy2##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##food ##homeless♬ Coffee for Your Head – Vinyll
In his second video, he shared that his budget that day was $1.25
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
The second video starts with him explaining that the budget of the day is $1.25—but luckily he has some ramen noodles for 50 cents each that he had in his backpack for about a week. He buys sourdough French bread that he shares with his mom, according to the video. He prepares the noodles using a park’s electric outlet, his electric stove and pot filled with water from drinking fountain. He seasons the noodles and stuffs them in the bread he bought at Walmart.
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
He used $0.50-a-pack ramen noodles he had in his backpack from the week before
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
Together with his mom, @randomhomelessguy2 are living in their car. They both have phones and their contract includes unlimited data; because of that, he is able to watch videos and make his own TikToks.
The teenager eats from the same pan he used to make the noodles
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
The bread bought for $1.25 he shared with his mom
Image credits: randomhomelessguy2
And here you can check out the full video made by @randomhomelessguy2
@randomhomelessguy2Thanks for 100 k guys 🔥💙👍🏽🙏🏽 ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##food ##homeless♬ Coffee for Your Head – Vinyll
In his recent TikTok, he expressed understanding of doubts from the online community questioning his situation and the teenager agrees that some accounts are often chasing after fame.
He thanked the viewers for support and their encouraging words. According to Homeless Children’s Education Fund, as many as 62% of youth experiencing homelessness have cell phones. In fact, they share that having a cellphone is a great way to locate resources that can help people to battle the hardship. Cellphones can also help with the isolation homeless people are facing—it helps them to connect with friends and family they might have and it’s also very important to be reachable in the process of job hunting.
Many people expressed their surprise, concern, and support, as well as being impressed with the teenager’s resourcefulness
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I escaped a sex trafficking ring when I was in my 20s and it caused me to be homeless for about 8 months. I didn't know anyone and I was a couple thousand miles from home. This was before cell phones were popular and the only people that owned them were the rich snobs. I did what I had to do to survive like dumpster diving before it was cool, slept in a cardboard box to protect myself from the weather, carried a handmade knife to protect myself and hustled pool when I got the chance. I learned a lot about myself and how naive I had been about people in general. For the most part, people are just downright judgemental and cruel. It was tough but I learned many valuable lessons during that time that I will never forget. To those here in the comments: Stop judging people until you walk in their shoes and then keep it to yourself! Show some kindness to others, it's the right thing to do.
I lived in a homeless shelter for 6 mths with my children, all while employed. All it takes is one bad decision, one lost paycheck, and you can experience it too. It was humbling and damned difficult, but we made it through. It changes your perspective, it changes your willingness to change things. This is reality for so many people.
A homeless man told me it is a lot of work to be homeless. One afternoon a week he could do laundry for free. A few days a week he could get a shower. To get a bed he had to be at the shelter before it opened. He had terrible dyslexia and despite years are trying, he couldn't read.
The idea that "poor people can't have cell phones" needs to die a burning death. One, a cell phone is the biggest lifeline you can have these days. Imagine trying to get a job with no internet and no phone number. Cell phone should be the LAST thing you give up because once you lose that, your chances of getting out of poverty are decimated. And two, mental health is very important and EVEN if the phone was nothing but a way to stay connected with friends or to play video games, it's worth it because it's very cheap for what you get out of it. Please stop judging people for making perfectly reasonable choices about how to spend their own money.
There's a federal program in the U.S. that can help people who are homeless or very low income get a phone or internet access. It's essential. The program is called Lifeline.
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This is madness, how can we have the highest profits margins Ever and at the same time people have to live on the streets? ._.
How do you think they got their profit margins so high?
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This kid won't be homeless for long . With his attitude and ingenuity , and kindness taking care of his mom , this kid is going to be a success
I was homeless for about a year in high school. During that period of homelessness, my ADHD got worse and I was practically shaking because I was fidgeting a lot and I couldn't pay attention in class. My parents kicked me out because they were rich, stuck-up a**holes and I didn't believe in their beliefs (homophobia, misogyny, racism, etc.) and all I had was my backpack with a week's worth of clothes, my phone, and a novel I managed to snag from my room when I sneaked back to the house to get some stuff. I lived in the park, using a cardboard box as a shelter against rain and snow. I had a Swiss Army knife but the blade got snapped off by this jerk who thought it'd be funny to break my only weapon. I lost so much weight during that year, I went from 110 pounds to 87 pounds. At school, people didn't really judge, and some helped me out. There were a few rich kids who made fun of me, though. Thankfully, my friend's parents found out where I was and took me in. They let me live with them and they were the ones who sent me to college and paid for my cello (I'm a music major).
okay but the paul guy was an ahole he doesnt even know the full story and is judging because he has a phone
This attitude always annoys the hell out of me. On the reddit sub r/homeless, people are always commenting 'why do you have a phone?' Homeless people need phones to stay connected, apply for benefits, jobs, housing. Also, just because someone is homeless doesn't mean they don't still have people in their lives. Many of the users of that sub need that connection to reddit and other platforms to keep them from a mental health dive. If they sell their phone to pay for food, they are drifting further away from their life.
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Such a brave young person. I wish him and his mom courage, strength, and a means to turn their situation around and help them locate jobs, secure housing, etc.
I am so very sick of those self-entitled SOBs out there with the "if you have a cell phone and you are homeless & broke you should sell your phone" attitudes ... if the poor kid has a phone it may be his ONLY means of keeping sane - it may just be his only source of enjoyment after everything else has been taken away. many people are just cruel and judgemental, forgetting how much more they have over others and completely forgetting that one simple luxury to so many is what keeps that person going, one plodding step at a time. my heart breaks for this kid
I came out at 15, and spent a few weeks on the streets as a result. It's not an experience I'd ever repeat, but it certainly gives perspective. I think about the people I met back then sometimes. I hope they are okay. It's been almost 20 years since then, but I will carry that experience with me till I die.
Only in America! POC suffer from many indignities but soon it will become the haves and have nots. How can a country with all of our resources have a population of homeless and a lack of resources to deal with the problems that caused the situations in the first place? There are Veterans who are homeless (thank you for your service), mentally ill people who are no longer getting services due to budget cuts, people who are out of work due to medical bills or due to lack of employment or necessary skills, or you can fill in the blanks yourself! It doesn't really matter what the reason is, all that matters is that we have homeless individuals and homeless families with children. Some of you might say well they have phones or cars, so what - every one needs some type of dignity don't they - you don't know homelessness until you have tried to understand instead of judging, every person wasn't always homeless. Thank you, have some concern and empathy.
“Soon it will become” Hang on to your hat for this one. But it’s been like that for hundreds of years.
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Well, that's how I ate and those are the kinds of foods (ramen noodle, hotdog sausages) that I ate as a graduate student because that's what I could afford with my stipend as a graduate student. And lots of walking, a mile or two during winter when I missed the bus, never eat out. I didn't have smartphone, just an old cellphone for call and text.
How lucky,&fortunate for you, to be able to be an undergrad&attend college to receive a bachelor's degree. I would have given anything, to have been able to go to college, even just for an associates degree. Sometimes, it's one's situation in life thru no fault of their own,that makes college education unobtainable. And sometimes, yes, " it is too late" to go to college. But I sincerely, honestly, am happy for you.It's spectacularly fortunate, for you, to be able to acquire yet another degree/ expand/complete your chosen career education, as a graduate student. You may have gotten scholarships-or paid for it by yourself, busted your ass-made straight A's...& I admire that. You earned it. And you deserve it. But I wouldn't get on a post about homeless people, who sleep in their car,&eat noodles&hot dogs& say" Well, that's how I ate as a graduate student"; it's comparable to " I had to drink flat water, instead of sparkling water, & only have soup ,when I went to the 5 star restaurant"
Load More Replies...
Most of those ingredients are cheaper at other stores. The tomato sauce is like 85 cents at Walmart
People are not always near those stores. They live day by day
Load More Replies...
i hope the teen and other homeless ppl finds a home or else i'll give them a home ;)
Biggest issue of course is lack of balanced nutrition. Very low vitamin or protein intake. Had the same problem when I was younger, when we had a roof over out head, but our food budget was about $15 a week for 3 of us (probably about $40 today). Lots of potatoes and eggs. No meat, no fresh vegetables. And you always felt like crap. And a lot of people in the first world live at that level.
This reminds me a lot of how I was eating before I caught my lucky break. Basically whatever is from the dollar store / beans, pastas, breads. It’s a carby diet but it does get the job done.
Mewtons third paw: oh yes, you are absolutely correct about the pell grant ! What I meant, was, for example-I know someone who couldn't go to college because she had to stay home &raise her 6 brothers and sisters -long ,long story. Not sure if she got to go later in life or not? Another example, is, well , me. Another long story short: Parents=huge religious fundamentalists. Believe degree useless because the end of the world was right around the corner. Told no, read Bible instead. Me=I left. No experience.minimum wage,worked 2 jobs for many years. Grant?probably. Time? No. Worked my way up to management. Salaried=still 65-70 hours week. Plus take work home, too. But better than 2 jobs at 2 different places. Me= extremely, extremely grateful&humbled somebody gave me a chance to get foot in the door &better myself. Do I still wish I could have gone to college? Yes. But-I now have opportunity to help someone like I was helped. ( a better deal. ( : )
Kid, you have to cook your hotdog sausages too!!! Don't just warm them up with the sauce, cook them!
Hotdogs are precooked. They taste better cooked again, but that's not necessary.
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I feel you but I meaannnnn.... if you’re just wishing for random, impossible things, why not wish for a world where nobody is homeless?
Load More Replies... How much do you think a home costs and how much do you think a phone costs? And why do you want them to be homeless forever? How come you don’t want them to have a job? You just hate homeless people or something?
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You just said you were homeless 2 years ago, yet you are bashing this homeless man for the only meal he is able to make? stfu
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thats what i was wondering. But if he doesnt have a phone number he doesnt need to pay. And he could just use mcdonalds wifi or something to upload it. He might of gotten the phone before he was on the streets.
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I escaped a sex trafficking ring when I was in my 20s and it caused me to be homeless for about 8 months. I didn't know anyone and I was a couple thousand miles from home. This was before cell phones were popular and the only people that owned them were the rich snobs. I did what I had to do to survive like dumpster diving before it was cool, slept in a cardboard box to protect myself from the weather, carried a handmade knife to protect myself and hustled pool when I got the chance. I learned a lot about myself and how naive I had been about people in general. For the most part, people are just downright judgemental and cruel. It was tough but I learned many valuable lessons during that time that I will never forget. To those here in the comments: Stop judging people until you walk in their shoes and then keep it to yourself! Show some kindness to others, it's the right thing to do.
I lived in a homeless shelter for 6 mths with my children, all while employed. All it takes is one bad decision, one lost paycheck, and you can experience it too. It was humbling and damned difficult, but we made it through. It changes your perspective, it changes your willingness to change things. This is reality for so many people.
A homeless man told me it is a lot of work to be homeless. One afternoon a week he could do laundry for free. A few days a week he could get a shower. To get a bed he had to be at the shelter before it opened. He had terrible dyslexia and despite years are trying, he couldn't read.
The idea that "poor people can't have cell phones" needs to die a burning death. One, a cell phone is the biggest lifeline you can have these days. Imagine trying to get a job with no internet and no phone number. Cell phone should be the LAST thing you give up because once you lose that, your chances of getting out of poverty are decimated. And two, mental health is very important and EVEN if the phone was nothing but a way to stay connected with friends or to play video games, it's worth it because it's very cheap for what you get out of it. Please stop judging people for making perfectly reasonable choices about how to spend their own money.
There's a federal program in the U.S. that can help people who are homeless or very low income get a phone or internet access. It's essential. The program is called Lifeline.
Load More Replies... This is madness, how can we have the highest profits margins Ever and at the same time people have to live on the streets? ._.
How do you think they got their profit margins so high?
Load More Replies... This kid won't be homeless for long . With his attitude and ingenuity , and kindness taking care of his mom , this kid is going to be a success
I was homeless for about a year in high school. During that period of homelessness, my ADHD got worse and I was practically shaking because I was fidgeting a lot and I couldn't pay attention in class. My parents kicked me out because they were rich, stuck-up a**holes and I didn't believe in their beliefs (homophobia, misogyny, racism, etc.) and all I had was my backpack with a week's worth of clothes, my phone, and a novel I managed to snag from my room when I sneaked back to the house to get some stuff. I lived in the park, using a cardboard box as a shelter against rain and snow. I had a Swiss Army knife but the blade got snapped off by this jerk who thought it'd be funny to break my only weapon. I lost so much weight during that year, I went from 110 pounds to 87 pounds. At school, people didn't really judge, and some helped me out. There were a few rich kids who made fun of me, though. Thankfully, my friend's parents found out where I was and took me in. They let me live with them and they were the ones who sent me to college and paid for my cello (I'm a music major).
okay but the paul guy was an ahole he doesnt even know the full story and is judging because he has a phone
This attitude always annoys the hell out of me. On the reddit sub r/homeless, people are always commenting 'why do you have a phone?' Homeless people need phones to stay connected, apply for benefits, jobs, housing. Also, just because someone is homeless doesn't mean they don't still have people in their lives. Many of the users of that sub need that connection to reddit and other platforms to keep them from a mental health dive. If they sell their phone to pay for food, they are drifting further away from their life.
Load More Replies... Such a brave young person. I wish him and his mom courage, strength, and a means to turn their situation around and help them locate jobs, secure housing, etc.
I am so very sick of those self-entitled SOBs out there with the "if you have a cell phone and you are homeless & broke you should sell your phone" attitudes ... if the poor kid has a phone it may be his ONLY means of keeping sane - it may just be his only source of enjoyment after everything else has been taken away. many people are just cruel and judgemental, forgetting how much more they have over others and completely forgetting that one simple luxury to so many is what keeps that person going, one plodding step at a time. my heart breaks for this kid
I came out at 15, and spent a few weeks on the streets as a result. It's not an experience I'd ever repeat, but it certainly gives perspective. I think about the people I met back then sometimes. I hope they are okay. It's been almost 20 years since then, but I will carry that experience with me till I die.
Only in America! POC suffer from many indignities but soon it will become the haves and have nots. How can a country with all of our resources have a population of homeless and a lack of resources to deal with the problems that caused the situations in the first place? There are Veterans who are homeless (thank you for your service), mentally ill people who are no longer getting services due to budget cuts, people who are out of work due to medical bills or due to lack of employment or necessary skills, or you can fill in the blanks yourself! It doesn't really matter what the reason is, all that matters is that we have homeless individuals and homeless families with children. Some of you might say well they have phones or cars, so what - every one needs some type of dignity don't they - you don't know homelessness until you have tried to understand instead of judging, every person wasn't always homeless. Thank you, have some concern and empathy.
“Soon it will become” Hang on to your hat for this one. But it’s been like that for hundreds of years.
Load More Replies... Well, that's how I ate and those are the kinds of foods (ramen noodle, hotdog sausages) that I ate as a graduate student because that's what I could afford with my stipend as a graduate student. And lots of walking, a mile or two during winter when I missed the bus, never eat out. I didn't have smartphone, just an old cellphone for call and text.
How lucky,&fortunate for you, to be able to be an undergrad&attend college to receive a bachelor's degree. I would have given anything, to have been able to go to college, even just for an associates degree. Sometimes, it's one's situation in life thru no fault of their own,that makes college education unobtainable. And sometimes, yes, " it is too late" to go to college. But I sincerely, honestly, am happy for you.It's spectacularly fortunate, for you, to be able to acquire yet another degree/ expand/complete your chosen career education, as a graduate student. You may have gotten scholarships-or paid for it by yourself, busted your ass-made straight A's...& I admire that. You earned it. And you deserve it. But I wouldn't get on a post about homeless people, who sleep in their car,&eat noodles&hot dogs& say" Well, that's how I ate as a graduate student"; it's comparable to " I had to drink flat water, instead of sparkling water, & only have soup ,when I went to the 5 star restaurant"
Load More Replies... Most of those ingredients are cheaper at other stores. The tomato sauce is like 85 cents at Walmart
People are not always near those stores. They live day by day
Load More Replies... i hope the teen and other homeless ppl finds a home or else i'll give them a home ;)
Biggest issue of course is lack of balanced nutrition. Very low vitamin or protein intake. Had the same problem when I was younger, when we had a roof over out head, but our food budget was about $15 a week for 3 of us (probably about $40 today). Lots of potatoes and eggs. No meat, no fresh vegetables. And you always felt like crap. And a lot of people in the first world live at that level.
This reminds me a lot of how I was eating before I caught my lucky break. Basically whatever is from the dollar store / beans, pastas, breads. It’s a carby diet but it does get the job done.
Mewtons third paw: oh yes, you are absolutely correct about the pell grant ! What I meant, was, for example-I know someone who couldn't go to college because she had to stay home &raise her 6 brothers and sisters -long ,long story. Not sure if she got to go later in life or not? Another example, is, well , me. Another long story short: Parents=huge religious fundamentalists. Believe degree useless because the end of the world was right around the corner. Told no, read Bible instead. Me=I left. No experience.minimum wage,worked 2 jobs for many years. Grant?probably. Time? No. Worked my way up to management. Salaried=still 65-70 hours week. Plus take work home, too. But better than 2 jobs at 2 different places. Me= extremely, extremely grateful&humbled somebody gave me a chance to get foot in the door &better myself. Do I still wish I could have gone to college? Yes. But-I now have opportunity to help someone like I was helped. ( a better deal. ( : )
Kid, you have to cook your hotdog sausages too!!! Don't just warm them up with the sauce, cook them!
Hotdogs are precooked. They taste better cooked again, but that's not necessary.
Load More Replies... I feel you but I meaannnnn.... if you’re just wishing for random, impossible things, why not wish for a world where nobody is homeless?
Load More Replies... How much do you think a home costs and how much do you think a phone costs? And why do you want them to be homeless forever? How come you don’t want them to have a job? You just hate homeless people or something?
Load More Replies... You just said you were homeless 2 years ago, yet you are bashing this homeless man for the only meal he is able to make? stfu
Load More Replies... thats what i was wondering. But if he doesnt have a phone number he doesnt need to pay. And he could just use mcdonalds wifi or something to upload it. He might of gotten the phone before he was on the streets.
Load More Replies...
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