L.A. Health Rules Keep 2 Groups From Feeding Homeless

Two grass-roots religious organizations said Saturday that they have free meals to serve the homeless in the San Fernando Valley--but nowhere to serve them.

On Saturday, Operation Reborn, which said it had been providing a pancake breakfast to 150 people on Saturdays for two months at Sun Valley Recreation Center, found itself offering cold sandwiches in a park, with few takers.

Last week, the group’s director, Stephen Perkins, was told by the City of Los Angeles that the group could no longer use the center’s kitchen because of health regulations. A caterer offered to cook breakfast in his truck but didn’t show after his vehicle broke down on the freeway.

More Red Tape

John Ward, assistant general manager for the city Recreation and Parks Department, said the kitchen at the Sun Valley center is designed more for warming meals than cooking them. Among other things, he said, the center lacks a garbage disposal and a three-compartment sink.

Edward Brooks, director of the other group, Christian Manor Institution, said his organization ran into the same red tape when it tried to feed the homeless.

Brooks said he and his members wanted to cook meals at their homes, then reheat them at Pacoima Recreation Center to serve to the homeless. But that violated laws governing preparation and delivery of food, city officials told them.

Brooks said the group had been providing hot meals daily to about 15 people in a senior-citizens housing project in Pacoima but had to stop when some residents complained about noise and strangers in the complex.

Brooks helped Perkins serve breakfast at the Sun Valley center Saturday and helped him pay for sandwich fixings when the catering truck failed to arrive to fix the pancakes.

Perkins and Brooks agreed Saturday that they will continue to serve sandwiches on weekends in the park. In the meantime, they said, they will appeal this week to Los Angeles Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who represents Pacoima and Sun Valley, for a long-term resolution.