What started as a Christian grandmother from Missouri feeling called to cook breakfast for a handful of neighbours and friends has turned into a dispute over food, faith, and government regulations.
Kathy Kite from the rural town of Harrisburg began welcoming locals into her home for breakfast back in May after the community’s convenience store stopped serving its breakfasts.
Kathy works at that store and petrol station and noticed residents repeatedly expressing interest in finding a new place to have breakfast.
She lives nearby, so she decided to offer an alternative by cooking for them and offering up the food for free.
Kathy Served Breakfast For Up To 25 Diners
“I told the old guys that came in there in the mornings that like to play cards, and drink coffee, and eat breakfast: You guys can come to my house and I’ll do it,” Kathy explained to CBN News.
Once she started offering breakfast out of her kitchen, the people came for a feed and a chat.
At first, it was just a few, but others soon began to come after her loving act was advertised on social media.
It grew to a regular turnout of 20 to 25 people coming to her home in the morning.
Some parents even brought their kids to her house for food before school.
“It’s Not A Moneymaker By Any Means”
“It just kind of exploded from there. People were like: Breakfast? We have breakfast in town?” explained Kathy who gets up at 3:30 a.m. to prepare the meals.
She doesn’t charge for the meals.
There is a tip jar for people to leave money if they choose, but she said those contributions go straight back into buying ingredients and food.
“It’s not a moneymaker by any means,” she said.
“God Has Put It In My Heart To Do This”
For Kathy, her little food ministry is deeply connected to her Christian faith.
“For whatever reason, God has put it in my heart that I need to take care of people,” she said.
“I like to feed people.”
“In my mind feeding people is loving people.”
“This Is Just Having Friends For Breakfast”
Kathy’s breakfast gatherings eventually caught the attention of local government officials from the Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department.
They sent a letter to Kathy telling her she needed a commercial kitchen license to continue operating.
The grandmother disputes that she is operating a business and said the County’s demands have broken her heart.
“I’m not running a business,” she said.
“This is just friends coming over for breakfast.”
“It’s no different than a backyard barbecue or a church gathering.”
Why The County Intervened
County officials told Fox News that Kathy has a tip jar, open sign and is advertising food on social media, indicating elements “associated with a food establishment.”
“No citations or cease-and-desist orders were issued. We also did not threaten jail time,” the County said in a statement.
“We sent a letter to Ms. Kite following a complaint we received that food served in her establishment made someone ill.’
That complaint has yet to be verified.
Permit Is Not Compulsory
“Our role in public health is to work with food establishments to promote safe food practices and prevent food-borne illnesses,” the statement continued.
“There are safe, allowable ways to provide homemade food to the community with and without a food permit.”
“We regularly work together with individuals and businesses who want to provide free food to the community.”
“I Didn’t Understand What I Was Doing Wrong”
“I got the letter in July, it upset me, because I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong,” Kathy said.
“It hurt my feelings, and it upset me because I knew at that point I was afraid I was gonna go to jail because the letter stated that if I didn’t stop making breakfast for my community, that I was facing fines and jail, and so I posted it on Facebook and people responded.”
“In order for me to comply with what they’re asking, I would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a commercial kitchen in my home,” the grandmother claimed.
“I live in a 115-year-old home. It’s a beautiful home. I’m not gonna jeopardise the integrity of my home to put a commercial kitchen in to make some free burritos.”
She said she would welcome city officials into her home so they could see firsthand what she is doing.
Fall in Patronage At Kathy’s Home
In the meantime, the warning has dramatically affected patronage at Kathy’s home.
Many residents became concerned that continuing to visit could cause additional trouble for her.
As a result, they stopped coming.
“I went from having probably 20 to 25 to maybe 5 to 8 people,” Kathy revealed.
Kathy Is Not Backing Down On Her Breakfasts
Still, she isn’t planning to quit her hospitality ministry just yet, despite admitting she was scared to incur fines or worse.
Rather than back down, she has sought legal help and has no plans to stop.
“God laid this on me and I just feel like if God brought me to it, God’s going to bring me through it,” Kathy said.
“I believe in what I’m doing. I don’t believe I’m doing anything wrong.”
“Textbook Example of Bureaucracy Run Amok”
Advocate for freedom of speech and religion The Goldwater Institute is supporting Kathy’s legal case.
It has sent a letter to the Boone County health department seeking answers about why they are demanding a commercial kitchen.
Dave Roland, Goldwater’s director of allied litigation, said, “Kathy’s story is a textbook example of bureaucracy run amok.”
“Citizens should not be required to get the government’s permission before offering passers-by some coffee and a bite to eat while they socialise.”
“The government exists to protect this sort of neighbourly kindness, not to punish it.”
Kathy To Fight On
“I wouldn’t stop feeding my children, I wouldn’t stop feeding my family.”
“I’m not going to stop feeding my community cause they are my family.”
“This is bigger than that.”
“It’s about love and appreciation because they appreciate what I do.”
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