Posted: Nov. 7, 2014
For more than two decades, 90-year-old chef Arnold Abbott has led a group of church volunteers in serving trays of hot food to the hungry and homeless in public parks and beaches in Fort Lauderdale.
But a few weeks ago, the city passed a cruel law that outlaws the distribution of food to homeless people in public. So this past Sunday, when he began serving food, the police showed up and yelled "drop that plate!" They immediately took Abbott into custody and charged him, along with two local pastors.
"I don't think the city has a right to tell us we can't feed the homeless," said one of the pastors. "This is breaking my Christian vows." When asked what comes next, the pastor simply said: "Continuing to feed them."
The men are facing hefty fines and up to 60 days in jail, but they're refusing to back down -- they were cited and charged again on Wednesday -- so we need to stand with them.
Sign the petition:
Love thy neighbor.