Columbia/Boone County health officials say a Harrisburg woman who makes home-cooked breakfasts for the community at no charge at her home is violating the food code.
The Goldwater Institute disagrees with that and says the federal and Missouri constitutions protect Kathy Kite’s right to host farmers and others in her home. Attorney Dave Roland, who represents the Goldwater Institute, tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Missouri” that Harrisburg has no other place that serves hot food in the morning:
“They sit, they talk, they enjoy each other’s company. She provides them coffee and a little bit to eat. And that is exactly what the county says you’ve got to get the government’s permission to do,” Roland says.
Counselor Roland says Kite does this without demanding or expecting compensation.
Columbia/Boone County Health Department spokesperson Austin Krohn tells 939 the Eagle that Kite is in violation of the food code which states “A person shall not operate a food establishment without a valid permit to operate issued by the regulatory authority.”
Counselor Roland, representing the Goldwater Institute, tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Missouri” that he’s sent a letter to health officials:
“What part of the food ordinance says you get to dictate who people get to have into their homes. Whether or not they get to share food while they’re at someone’s house,” says Roland.
Health officials say she’s violating the food code because she doesn’t have a valid permit.
Click here to listen to the full “Wake Up Missouri” interview with Counselor Roland.