Local Governments, Continuing To Bar Us From Feeding the Homeless
I've blogged about this kind of cruel foolishness before, arresting or ticketing people for publicly feeding the homeless, out of cities like Dallas and Ft. Lauderdale.
This week MySanAntonio reports on a fully licensed food truck operator arrested cited because they used a vehicle other than their licensed one to give food away to hungry homeless in San Antonio's Maverick Park:
Joan Cheever, founder of the nonprofit mobile food truck known as the Chow Train, was cited last Tuesday by San Antonio police officers for feeding the homeless in Maverick Park.
Cheever has been serving restaurant-quality meals to the city's homeless population for the past 10 years, and has been profiled on Rachel Ray's cooking show for her charitable efforts.
Over the years, police officers have passed by and waved as she fed homeless people, but last Tuesday night four bike-patrol officers stopped in the park and gave Cheever a ticket that carries a potential fine of $2,000. Cheever has a food permit for her mobile truck, but she was cited for transporting and serving the food from a vehicle other than that truck.
Cheever wants to use the argument that had been successful for Don Hart in Dallas: that the citation violates a state-level religious freedom act. I hope she wins, though it's too narrow a victory for the freedom to do good for your fellow man.
