Lunch lady faces fine for feeding poor kids in Pennsylvania

Sat Aug 18, 2012 12:53 am » by **Evildweeb**

Lunch lady faces fine for feeding poor kids in Pennsylvania

By Rene Lynch

August 17, 2012, 1:10 p.m.

Angela Prattis Faces $600 Fine for Feeding Needy Children

Lunch lady Angela Prattis thought she was just doing God's work, handing out free lunches to hungry children in a Pennsylvania neighborhood. But even acts of altruism, it seems, must bow to red tape.

National outrage has erupted after Prattis found herself running afoul of Chester Township zoning laws and threatened with a $600 fine if she continued, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.

Moreover, she faces a $1,000 fee if she wants to continue performing her good deeds, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The lunch lady, who is also a youth pastor at her church, was told that she needed a township zoning permit continue to hand out lunches outside her home. And the approval process requires an official hearing. And that hearing would cost her $1,000, the Inquirer reported.

It was enough to raise questions about whether Prattis could continue her work. She is a married mother of three and also a trained volunteer with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Nutritional Development Services, which supplies the food she gives out, according to the Inquirer.
The food is paid for by the state, according to the Inquirer, which also reported that program representatives had inspected and approved Prattis' operation.

The stalemate has prompted an outpouring of support. So far, several in the community offered to cover the $1,000 bill. She has received dozens of calls from others offering to do whatever is needed to keep the lunch lady on the job, and a law firm has also offered to represent her for free.

Prattis told the Inquirer that she's grateful for the offers but has not taken any money yet because she's still hoping authorities will waive the fee.

The Inquirer said it spoke to the township's acting solicitor, Murray Eckell, who acknowledged that the incident is giving local government a black eye. But he said the township is in a difficult position.

"Suppose a child gets hurt on her property," Eckell was quoted as saying. "Will the family sue the township? What if somebody gets food poisoning?

"What she is doing is commendable.... But if we don't have laws, there's chaos. It's a difficult situation for the township to be in."

NBC10 says Prattis plans to attend the next township meeting in a bid to clear up the controversy, but until then she plans to continue feeding children.

The Chester Township manager did not return a phone call seeking comment by the time this article was posted online.

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nati ... 1567.story

:bang;

Sat Aug 18, 2012 6:49 am » by **Lucidlemondrop**

Great to see the community standing behind her on this one.

Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:03 am » by **Kartracer18**

So she CAN'T hand out food to kids, yet strangers can hand out candy on halloween that could be poisioned or contaminated? Seems a little hypocritical if you ask me.

Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:23 am » by **Slith**

Kartracer18 wrote:So she CAN'T hand out food to kids, yet strangers can hand out candy on halloween that could be poisioned or contaminated? Seems a little hypocritical if you ask me.

Good point

Yet at the same time, if you run any type of food service, there are rules that must be adhered to regarding food safety et al. Too much to get into at the moment, but that being said, none of these regulatory rules were brought up in this case.

So much for being a good samaritan. :badair:

Sat Aug 18, 2012 1:56 pm » by **Flecktarn**

this is morally wrong this woman is doing something good for the community and gets shit for it :bang;

and as was mentioned , Halloween,kids could be eating anything then ,but that's ok ,the world gets dumber by the day

Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:40 pm » by **Noentry**

Flecktarn wrote:this is morally wrong this woman is doing something good for the community and gets shit for it
and as was mentioned , Halloween,kids could be eating anything then ,but that's ok ,the world gets dumber by the day

well said

My sentiments exactly.
You took the words right out of my mouth fleck

Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:52 pm » by **Rkobilan**

This lady should counter sue the city government using the precedence of the annual Halloween event. The city allows it's residents annually to conduct this event without permit, no state or local health department oversight, or zones in which such events can be held. Since there is no statue of limitations She should sue for the past fifty years at a rate of $1,000 per year as they've failed to protect their citizens. This should sway the city code makers into dropping the claims as when the rest of the city reads about the counter suit then they will also join in for those who actually got sick or injured during that time frame in which the city dd nothing but allow it to take place.

When the people learn the Laws have been codified meaning they've been rewritten and do not represent what they did in the past. Maybe the people will take back what they call Government and run it for their people. The city council members all should be ashamed to allow this to happen to one of their neighbors to which pays her appropriated taxes and volunteers herself and time to assist those the city should consider helping rather than installing a fee system for good deeds rendered.