SANTA ANA : Plan to Curb Soup Kitchens Protested

An advocacy group for the homeless plans to host an early Thanksgiving dinner outside City Hall Monday night to protest a city proposal that would place restrictions on mobile soup kitchens.

The Orange County Committee to Feed the Homeless, made up of five organizations, will serve the meal outside City Hall to about 200 people, said Sister Carmen Sarati of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, which runs a soup kitchen on Minter Street.

“We think a Thanksgiving meal is the appropriate way to call attention to this proposal and the way the city has treated its homeless population,” Sarati said.

After the meal, the organization plans to distribute blankets and rally outside the City Council chambers.

The Santa Ana Planning Department is preparing an amendment to a city code that would require mobile soup kitchens to apply for city permits and to provide toilets, tables and trash receptacles at each stop where food is served.

A citizens group called Clean Up Our Businesses and Residential Areas recommended the amendment. The citizens group claims that the homeless have caused problems such as littering in the neighborhoods where food has been served.

Advocates for the homeless say that most of the organizations that feed the poor cannot afford to comply with the code and would not be able to continue their service to the homeless if the proposal is passed by the City Council.