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People’s Kitchen striving to feed the poor

September 9, 2013

South County People’s Kitchen board members are scheduled to ask the Grover Beach Planning Commission on Tuesday if they can continue serving the homeless from the non-profit’s current temporary location. [SantaMariaTimes]

peoples foodOn an average, the organization provides hot meals to 80 to 100 needy people a day which it serves from a vacant lot off South 16th Street under a temporary use permit. The group is asking to have the permit extended while they continue to look for a permanent site.

A local Boy Scout installed pavers in the serving area as his Eagle project, and wind screens are put up to protect the volunteer servers. The group is holding off on installing an overhead canopy until the rains starts in order to comply with a 180-day-limit on overhead covers.

A coalition of 18 churches and volunteers cook food in their homes or church facilities, and then transport the meals to the People’s Kitchen serving site, where they dish out approximately 3,000 meals a month.

Opponents of the organization say that having a food program lowers nearby property values while drawing “undesirables, drunks and drug addicts” to the area.

 


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Everyone loves to talk about CAPSLO’s “$60+ million dollar budget” like they should just be able to spend that on whatever. At least 80% of their entire budget is tied up in state or federally regulated child care and early childhood education grants and cannot be spent on anything else.


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I would venture to say that a large amount goes towards salaries and benefits. I would encourage everyone to take a tour of CAPSLO and then ask yourself what all of these people are doing for the underprivileged?


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Child care and education is a very “labor-intensive” activity and the requirements they have to meet for the school environment are very particular so that is also a big part of the budget. If some people are “overpaid” ( a judgment call), that has little impact on the overall expenditures.


I don’t know if CAPSLO offers the “tours” you talk about but I suspect that such a tour would not provide enough information about a fairly complex organization to allow someone to make an accurate assessment of their overall efficiency. You would be as likely to understand the operations of Procter and Gamble from a tour of their HQ.


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I would guess that almost 80% of the remaining $12+ million is also committed to other programs. Funding can’t be legally switched to “Homeless Services” simply because a single organization administers all the programs. It is amazing how a big error in context in the original reporting on CAPSLO can linger on in the minds of some despite numerous corrections.


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How far we have fallen as a nation when we cannot voluntarily assist our fellow citizens without immense government involvement.


I’m surprised they let the Scout put in the pavers… that must have peeved some unaccountable bureaucrat somewhere.


It’s not unheard of to actually BAN feeding the homeless! It has happened before and might just keep happening if we do not stop this monsterous over-bearing bureaucracy from siphoning off our life to feed itself.


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Where is CAPSLO on this one. With their $60+ million dollar budget you think that they would easily be able to find a location to feed 80-100 hungry people a day.


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There is no need for anyone else to do anything to help the poor, because CAPSLO has a $60+ million budget. Yes, CAPSLO’s $60+ million budget can solve every local social and health problem!


Get a clue, Mr Holly, most of CAPSLO’s budget is for Head Start.


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I’ve always thought of Head Start as a place for people who should of never had kids, where they drop them off all day, so someone else can take care of them.


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Zuma7 I am glad we live in a country where people like you do NOT make the decisions of who can and cannot have children.


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TruthFairy, Zuma7, I am glad we live in a country where people like you do NOT make any decisions.


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CAPSLO does provide PK a place to service 100+ hungry people a day. It is called Prado Day Center. People’s Kitchen provides the meals at Prado Day Center. As far as South County goes, there is not shelter in South County, but the Five Cities Coalition is working on it.


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It’s almost like you work for CAPSLO public relations……..


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