Feed the Homeless Program Shut Down by City

madanthonywayne

madanthonywayne

Morning in America
Registered Senior Member
Bobby and Amanda Herring have been providing free meals to the homeless in Houston for over a year thru their "Feed a Friend" program.
Bobby and Amanda Herring spent more than a year providing food to homeless people in downtown Houston every day. They fed them, left behind no trash and doled out warm meals peacefully without a single crime being committed, Bobby Herring said.

He and his wife became involved in the effort several years ago, when she would take leftover food from work to the homeless downtown. From there, it expanded into a full-time effort for her working through Eyes on Me, the Herrings' nonprofit organization that focuses on Christian-themed youth outreach efforts.

Nearly every day last year, they distributed food prepared or donated by volunteers or local stores at 6 p.m. at the corner of Commerce and San Jacinto, near the Harris County Jail, Bobby Herring said.
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But the city has now forced them to stop providing the food. Why?
That ended two weeks ago when the city shut down their "Feed a Friend" effort for lack of a permit. And city officials say the couple most likely will not be able to obtain one.
"We don't really know what they want, we just think that they don't want us down there feeding people," said Bobby Herring, a Christian rapper who goes by the stage name Tre9.
Anyone serving food for public consumption, whether for the homeless or for sale, must have a permit, said Kathy Barton, a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services Department. To get that permit, the food must be prepared in a certified kitchen with a certified food manager.
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So it's better that the homeless have no food than that they eat food not prepared in a certified kitchen by a certified food manager? WTF? According to the article linked to above, the ordinance that forced the closure of the food program is "under review'.
 
There are codes and regulations which are made to insure that the people are getting properly cooked and refrigerated food so that those foods are not contaminated. Anyone who handles food in any way must be licensed by the city or county to do so as well which means they need to get that license before they give food to anyone. Perhaps they have good intentions by donating the food to anyone but they don't have the cities approval as yet. What would happen if someone were to get sick and die because of their food, then what would the news think about that?
 
cosmictraveler said:
There are codes and regulations which are made to insure that the people are getting properly cooked and refrigerated food so that those foods are not contaminated. Anyone who handles food in any way must be licensed by the city or county to do so as well which means they need to get that license before they give food to anyone. Perhaps they have good intentions by donating the food to anyone but they don't have the cities approval as yet. What would happen if someone were to get sick and die because of their food, then what would the news think about that?
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I'm sure there are reasons for every regulation ever passed, but common sense should take precedence over blind adherence to regulations. If no one has actually gotten sick, then the city is clearly doing more harm than good by enforcing this regulation.
 
madanthonywayne said:
I'm sure there are reasons for every regulation ever passed, but common sense should take precedence over blind adherence to regulations. If no one has actually gotten sick, then the city is clearly doing more harm than good by enforcing this regulation.
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So we should just wait and see what might happen? I do not think that is a good way to protect people when laws and codes can be used to do so before someone gets killed. I agree that there are way to many codes today but some do have their merits. Making sure that food is handled, prepared and stored properly is a very good way to prevent illnesses and deaths because of bad food or other contamination. If any of the homeless were to die because of food poisoning then no one would know about them dying because no one would ever report the death of a homeless person dying on the street somewhere.The homeless have no voices to help them when they need help and whenever they are sick few are there to see to it they are given the adequate medical attention they need. If they get sick they could die and no one would ever care about why.
 
ehh id say 95% of homless got there because they dont know how to manage there money or they are addicted to one thing or another and im assuming a good majority before they fell off had people trying to help them that they ignorned so hard to feel sympathy for someone under thoes circumstances
 
sifreak21, actually, I saw a docu specifically dedicated to homeless people in Czech Republic on CT1, it showed exactly how wrong, or overgeneralised(superficial) your statement is.
 
1. A public assembly of more than 50 people.
2. Free food attracts/congregates the homeless.
 
PsychoTropicPuppy said:
sifreak21, actually, I saw a docu specifically dedicated to homeless people in Czech Republic on CT1, it showed exactly how wrong, or overgeneralised(superficial) your statement is.
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I believe you could have spent more effort on rewording that to have a more respectful tone.
 
madanthonywayne said:
So it's better that the homeless have no food than that they eat food not prepared in a certified kitchen by a certified food manager? WTF? According to the article linked to above, the ordinance that forced the closure of the food program is "under review'.
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Doesn't sound like this is a really insurmountable obstacle though.

Just consider how many thousands of food establishments there are in Houston, including some really small ones.

Little research tends to support this:

The City of Houston Food Ordinance requires the presence of a food service manager (s) in food establishments during all stages of operation. Students completing the course and passing the examination with a score of 70 points or above, receive a certificate, valid for 5 years. The City of Houston provides an initial 2 - Day course and, renewal 1- Day course and, optional exam in lieu of class is available.

Two-day course: $70.00 - Renewal one-day course: $55.00 - Optional Exam: $50.00 + $25 admin. fee


http://www.houstontx.gov/health/Food/foodmanagers.html

Arthur
 
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