I bought breakfast for a couple homeless dudes. Gave it to them. No “thanks” for my effort. They grumpily asked me why I didn’t get them coffee, too. Pissed me off as I wasn’t exactly making a lot of money at the time and the purchase wasn’t cheap. Sometimes people are assholes. That’s all there is to it. Plenty of homeless I’ve given a buck and they said “Thanks.” At a previous job a coworker would take packaged foods that were going to be discarded and give them to homeless at the end of the day. Some didn’t want the food and wanted money, others were happy to have it. IMO they do prefer cash so they can buy what they want or need, and don’t have to worry about whether someone put anything bad in the food or if it’s spoiled. I think it’s justifiably surprising if someone says they’re hungry and yet reject your food offering and demand money instead.