OPINION:
Feeding the hungry is the first order of good works. It’s what men and women of faith do, not only because it’s a commandment of their faith, but because — and on this people of no faith can agree — it’s the right thing to do. Unfortunately, that’s not how City Hall sees it in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The City Commission is miffed that church folks have taken it on themselves to feed the poor and homeless, which the commissioners believe should be left to government. Government can build a bureaucracy around it. On Nov. 1, the commission banned the work of Love Thy Neighbor, a local charity, saying the crackdown is good for the homeless. (Politicians always think only of others.)
“Let’s set the record straight,” Mayor John P. “Jack” Seiler said Monday, “Contrary to reports, the City of Fort Lauderdale is not banning groups from feeding the homeless. We have established an outdoor food-distribution ordinance to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our community. The ordinance does not prohibit feeding the homeless; it regulates the activity in order to ensure it is carried out in an appropriate, organized, clean and healthy manner.” Bureaucrats are born to “regulate.”
Arnold Abbott, 90, founder of Love Thy Neighbor, nevertheless faces 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for the “crime” of feeding people on the street. He cooks the grub and takes it to a beachfront park and lays out the spread. If eating outdoors is unsafe, that’s news to millions of Americans, no doubt including Mr. Seiler, who enjoy a summer barbecue. It’s news to diners in hundreds of sidewalk cafes, too.
Last week, when Mr. Abbott was serving meals the way he has for two decades, police ordered him to “drop that plate,” and took him away like a common criminal. Fort Lauderdale’s new ordinance requires keeping the poor and hungry out of sight. If there’s a line to get in the door, it must be hidden “with a fence, wall or hedge which meets all [city] requirements.”
No soup may be ladled nor a potato mashed until the group has filed a detailed security plan, a menu, a description of services and proof that the facilities meet the laundry list of requirements. That includes “a five (5) gallon container with a spigot that provides free-flowing water and a catch bucket to collect wastewater from hand washing.”
The madness isn’t limited to South Florida. Michael R. Bloomberg, now the late and lamented mayor of New York City, once banned private donations of food to the homeless because the city could not assess the fat, salt and fiber content of the meals. Dallas requires city permission before food is given away. A permit is required in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to feed the homeless. Denver has banned eating on public property without the approval of government officials. Even unwrapping a candy bar on the Washington subway invites a strip search.
The downtrodden must depend on government, not willing and eager men and women trying to obey the command of the Gospel to feed God’s sheep. This is part of the liberal scheme to restrict, limit and regulate everyone’s food.
Americans like Arnold Abbott are willing to take on City Hall in the spirit of volunteerism. God bless him.
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