Posted on 11/13/2018 6:33:38 AM PST by Red Badger
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI (Fox 32 News) - The Kansas City Health Department threw away and poured bleach on food meant for homeless people.
The food was going to be distributed by a group called Free Hot Soup KC. The Kansas City Star said that the food, which included home-cooked chili, foil wrapped sandwiches and vats of soup, was destroyed on Sunday, Nov. 5, during a coordinated sting at several parks where volunteers had gathered.
The Health Department said the group did not have a permit and was putting people at risk.
"E. coli or salmonella or listeria can grow in the food," department director Rex Archer said. "And then you give that to homeless people who are more vulnerable, they will end up in the ER and even die from that exposure."
The mayor also agreed with the Health Department, tweeting that "Rules are there to protect the public's health, and all groups must follow them, no exceptions."
One of the leaders of Free Soup KC said they will continue to hand out free food, but will just do it on private property.
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Regarding the incident involving Free Hot Soup & @KCMOHealthDept: Rules are there to protect the public's health, and all groups must follow them, no exceptions. https://t.co/WaIo0QMI98 For You From FOX 5 NY
— Mayor Sly James (@MayorSlyJames) November 5, 2018
And yet, the State won't "solve" the homeless problem. As we see in San Francisco, their direct involvement will only make it far worse, and more expensive.
And so they will have more homelessness, they will have also kill any sense of private charity
And then you'll have hunger on a much larger scale.
All because your proposal to prevent fictional food-poisoning.
I guess the powers that be feel it is safer for the bums to eat out of the dumpsters than to have home-cooked food, freely given.
Typical bureaucratic reasoning.
Destroy the food lest the starving get sick and die.....................
Nor by feeding them.
“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.” ― Benjamin Franklin
How many homeless are dying or going to the ER because of donated food that was unsafely prepared? Got statistics? Anything?
Oh, I agree. Post a sign: UNINSPECTED FOOD.
I'd be happy if that stopped the nanny-state lawyers from swooping in.
But I'd be surprised.
No I don’t have stats. I just know it is one of the reasons they are careful. Sounds like it really bugs you eh?
The presence or absence of a permit has zero effect on the safety of the food.
Not having one does not mean the food is unsafe or anyone is at risk.
Places with permits sicken the public all the time.
But it does have an effect on the amount of money in the government coffers..........and bureaucrats pockets.............
It certainly does. I am the first to concede that the poor and homeless are troublesome, mostly unrewarding, and endlessly inconvenient. None of that does away with the precept to feed them, given by Jesus himself — surely the poorest, most disabled, and most inconvenient man who ever lived. I do not like it when people construct arguments to justify neglect or oppression of the poor.
But you cannot control the food from when it is made to when it goes on the tables to the homeless. I’m thinking studio food, since the Food Closet I ran was close to the studios. We wanted that food, right? So - first it sits out on the tables for the studios. How long? Who knows? What is the temperature? Is it a very hot day? A cold day? (won’t be cold here in LA). Then who transports it? Who pays for that, or is it just done on the cheap in pickups? Or is it refrigerated? Can it be hot from sitting out, then cooled, then will it be safe? Now it gets to the church where we served the homeless. So let’s say it arrives Tuesday and the Feed the Homeless event is in the Park on Saturday. Where do we store it? We have a funky church kitchen with one refrigerator. Do we just leave it on the sink until Saturday? What if it’s hot? etc. You have to think it through/ all the variables/ all the transportation requirements and so forth.
So then let’s say our church serves it. Someone who is already fairly sick or old or ailing eats it. Instead of getting diarrhea, which would be bad enough to give to a guest, it puts them in the hospital. But they have no money to pay for that. Or they die there.
You have to think of the logistics, all the possibilities. To me, maybe the bleach was too far. But laws are made for reasonable reasons. That’s how I see it.
I disagree. Unless the people served do not know the risk, and there have been a number of cases of food poisoning, then the government should not try to regulate this like a business. They could require a course be taken on safe food handling, but not requiring inspection of homes that prepare the food, which is where this may head to, if it is not there already.
A church I know gives away free food from a food bank, and stores some, thus the church has to be inspected. For 7 years we have been blessed to be able to do the same weekly from a quality grocery retailer for about 25-30 people a week (no home cooked food though), without inspection, and never had a complaint to us or knowledge of any problems, thank God.
The only complaint to the city was bya lady who was criticized for cutting the line, and who apparently called up the health inspector who showed up promptly. He tried to shut it down for absence of refrigeration (it was Fall or Winter, and the food gets to homes about as quick as it might from the market), but the people protested, and he left and never came back. Thank God. .
Too many regs already.
You mean feeding people fish without a permit?! And where was the refrigeration for the twelve baskets with the fragments that He had gathered up so that nothing be lost?
Surely some well-meaning citizen or regulation-happy official would work to regulate this NGO!
More on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeHotSoupKC/permalink/2204486649831919/
Nellie Ann McCool
19 hrs
RESPONSE TO KCHD FAQs
“The KCMO Health Department believes everyone, including those experiencing homelessness deserve the reassurance of food safety practices, which is why we have partnered with 43 groups and organizations to obtain the permit to safely serve food to those in need. This is not about money. The Department offers free permit fees, free training, and free food handler cards for charitable groups serving the homeless population.”
RESPONSE: “Free Hot Soup” is not a charitable group, it is a reference to a handful of closed Facebook communities. Your permits and oversight are not applicable. Everyone in attendance at our picnics are our personal friends, and you infringed on our freedom of association and freedom of expression by requiring a permit for our activities with them.
“A representative from Free Hot Soup was present at the North Blue Ridge Neighborhood Association meeting on September 4, 2018 where notification was provided for the requirements for health permits. Furthermore, Free Hot Soup was already ordered to cease operation in April of this year, by the Cass County Health Department for serving food to the public without the proper permitting at a motel in the City Belton, Mo. Both Health Department food laws are based on federal regulations set forth by the Food & Drug Administration.”
RESPONSE:
a) Topics at the neighborhood association meeting in September surrounded Winner Park, where members of this specific Facebook community “Free Hot Soup (Kansas City)” do not plan picnics. “Free Hot Soup-Independence” plans picnics there, and expressed they are not an organization and are allowed to have picnics at a public park with their friends without permits. Furthermore, the Health Department was not present. The meeting was a closed forum, and health concerns were not discussed.
b) The event in April is based on an encounter with a separate Facebook group “Free Hot Soup- Belton/Grandview”, which does not include members who plan picnics with this Facebook group “Free Hot Soup (Kansas City)”. According to their Facebook community however, the HD was not involved. “Free Hot Soup- Belton/Grandview” changed locations of their meetups based on the request of private property owners.
c) No one from the Health Department ever came to observe picnics at Ilus W Davis Park, Washington Square Park, or Prospect Plaza Park, where this specific Facebook group of “Free Hot Soup (Kansas City)” likes to congregate, nor discuss the public health at these picnics. The picnics of “Free Hot Soup (Kansas City)” are all planned on a separate Facebook group than those mentioned in parts a and b.
“The Kansas City Missouri Food Code (Sec. 30-71, 8-301.11)” ... “ Although laws were broken by Free Hot Soup, the Health Department did not issue a citation or a summons to appear in court. No one was cited, but warnings were given. Future incidents may result in citations and court appearances.”
RESPONSE: “Free Hot Soup” is not a single entity. We are each individuals, who did not break any laws, with the personal freedom to meet and share a picnic with our friends at our local public parks. Permits to not apply here. If and when you pursue a citation or court appearance, you will do so on an individual basis and will face lawsuits discussing your unconstitutional acts. “Free Hot Soup” is not an establishment. We are a community of friends and neighbors wishing to address economic insecurity in our community, and you have violated our freedom of expression and association by not allowing us to assemble together to bond.
“The KCMO Food Code (Sec. 30-71) states a Food Establishment can be many things, such as: Such as a restaurant, central preparation facility, catered feeding location, catering operation if the operation provides food directly to a consumer or to a conveyance used to transport people, market, vending (location) operation, if the operation provides potentially hazardoes foods; conveyance used to transport people; institution; or food bank.”
RESPONSE: A “Food Establishment” is not a picnic with friends. The Facebook community of “Free Hot Soup (Kansas City)” is none of these. It is a Facebook community to meet new people interested in addressing economic insecurity, and you stalked our social media website to harass us at our private picnics with the friends we’ve made in our community.
“The food was denatured with bleach at one of the four illegal investigation locations because the onsite person in charge threatened to remove the food from the trash and reserve it to the public. This is a practice used by the Department and public health jurisdictions through the country when there is a direct threat to the public health by potentially contaminated food.”
RESPONSE: The inspector ensured the food was absolutely a direct threat to the public health by contaminating it with bleach, and abandoning it for the general public to scavenge through and eat.
“The fact the food was not prepared in a permitted kitchen was the Health Department’s primary focus during the onsite investigation. The Health Department was unable to determine the sanitary conditions of location in which the food was prepared, food safety knowledge of those preparing the food, and the cooking, storing, and transportation temperatures of the food prior to the arrival of the service location. Due to these factors, the food was considered to be unsafe for human consumption.”
RESPONSE: Your oversight does not apply to picnics at parks between friends. That mentioned, your reports were written beforehand, and no determination of conditions was even attempted.
“Free Hot Soup was not targeted. The Department received multiple complaints of Free Hot Soup serving throughout the City. As with every complaint received, the Health Department has a responsibility to respond in order to protect and preserve public health of all Kansas City residents and visitors.”
RESPONSE: “Free Hot Soup” is a collection of Facebook communities across the country, and individuals of these communities are spread throughout the Metro. We are not an establishment, organization or charitable group, and communicating to or referring to us by one identification infringes on our freedom of association as individuals to make friends with like-minded individuals on social media. Our picnics were absolutely targeted because the friends we make when we meet in public are sometimes homeless, and this also is an infringement on our freedom of association. You stalked our social media page and harassed individuals at our private picnics with our community, which was an infringement on freedom of expression
“Family picnics are not regulated by the Health Department.”
RESPONSE: Exactly. You discriminated against our friends, and overstepped your boundaries of oversight by harassing individuals at private picnics between friends in a communal-use space.
“Free Hot Soup was advertising on social media platforms and in public meetings that they are open to the general public and everyone is welcome to join. This is just like any temporary food service event or food establishment within the City and requires a health permit.”
RESPONSE: Advertising is a paid form of marketing. There was no advertising done ever. There was no statement at any public meetings, unless you are referring when Maegan Matt Cooley invited neighbors during the neighborhood association meeting to her picnic at Winner Park back in September to better understand what they are about. “Free Hot Soup” is not a single entity. Individuals can and will invite new friends and family to picnics using social media and in public places, such as the public park, because our goal is to cultivate an environment of friendship. We have the freedom to assemble together, associate with new people, and communicate our intention to build community by sharing our personal belongings.
That is the problem. Your scenario is a highly contrived and absurd one that makes churches look worse than the general public in Joe Friday's Dragnet.
You have to think of the logistics, all the possibilities
Which approach is what results in so many overly restrictive laws. Want to put a driveway in a inner city of about 20,000 people per square mile and reduce parking congestion? Cannot do it unless you have at least 19.5' width, and 5.5 away from any building, and 20' back from the sidewalk. Oh, you may be able to do it if you apply for a Special Permit, pay the city about $400, have plan by a licensed surveyor (maybe about $800 normally to hire), makes 17 copies of this and plans, go to 2 or 3 meetings, provide landscaping and and display review if approved, then find a city approved contractor from the cities secret list who will actually do the work, of which there are only two locally who might.
. To me, maybe the bleach was too far. But laws are made for reasonable reasons. That’s how I see it.
Sure, by thinking of the possibilities any aw can be justified. When the Communists take over Albania they went to a man's restaurant, which they wanted, and told him someone could get hurt by the corners in the square tables. Now that's possibility.
More recently the EPA stopped cities from using dry ice to kill rats . Find a entrance and seal the rest, drop in dry ice, and seal. Rats die painlessly, and are entombs with not smell. "The city [Boston] recorded as much as a 95% reduction in rodent activity in areas where it deployed dry ice after it launched the pilot in April."
Not so fast. Since they were using CO2 as rodent control, and it was not registered with the EPA for rodent control (nor is dish-washing liquid for killing fruit flies) then the cities had to stop, and seek a permit from the EPA. Rats were happy.
There is likely a law against that on private property also.
After all, you have to think of all the possibilities that can justify such. Local Laws Ban Front Yard Food Gardens in Cities Across the US
science eh?. Here’s something to ponder- the human body needs to be exposed to germs, bacteria in order to develop a healthy immune system. Now what if, deaths from such things were caused by a nanny government which, in it’s zeal to protect, was actually making people weaker and more susceptible to such things by limiting exposure and the body has no defenses against it.
People eating at church socials and pot lucks have been absolutely CLOGGING our ERs across America!!
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