I've always wondered if offerings were intended at some point to feed vagrants and travelers without explicitly endorsing it. Like, you leave out a glass of soju and a portion of rice in Japan for the local god, or you leave a bowl of porridge for the elves in Scandinavia, you gotta be aware that when it's gone, it hasn't been sucked into the spirit realm. It's a nice thought that some might have been aware that most people wouldn't want to feed the homeless, but had no problem feeding mythological beings, and it's even guaranteeing that only the desperate would take the chance on getting cursed from eating offerings.