A San Antonio woman who runs a nonprofit mobile food truck that distributes gourmet meals to the homeless, has been ticketed and fined $2000 for helping the hungry.
Philanthropist
Joan Cheever has been serving the city’s homeless population out of her
Chow Train truck as an act of charity for the past decade. But
on Tuesday, four bike-patrol officers stopped her and cited her
for distributing the food in Maverick Park.
Cheever has a food permit for her mobile truck, and police officers
had passed by and waved to her handing the homeless food on several
previous occasions.
So why give her a ticket this time around? Police say, for
"transporting and serving the food from a vehicle other than the truck."
Cheever’s municipal court date to fight the Class C Misdemeanor is scheduled for June 23. Her defense: under the 1999 Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, she has the right to serve food to the homeless as part of her freedom of religion exercise.
"This is how I pray," she told the local NBC affiliate, "when I cook this food and deliver it to the people who are less fortunate."
The Chow Train founder will be holding a candlelight vigil at Maverick Park Tuesday night to raise awareness about the incident, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Cheever has also announced that she’s starting a fund to support the continuation of her mission.
Joan Cheever received a ticket and a $2,000 fine for feeding the homeless.
We think the world needs more people like Chef Joan Cheever & more organizations like @TheChowTrain.Besides, who doesn't like food trucks?
— WorldStove (@WorldStove) April 16, 2015
Cheever’s municipal court date to fight the Class C Misdemeanor is scheduled for June 23. Her defense: under the 1999 Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, she has the right to serve food to the homeless as part of her freedom of religion exercise.
"This is how I pray," she told the local NBC affiliate, "when I cook this food and deliver it to the people who are less fortunate."
The Chow Train founder will be holding a candlelight vigil at Maverick Park Tuesday night to raise awareness about the incident, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
I'm raising money for The Chow Train Donation Fund. Click to Donate: http://t.co/4AJyNhUN2G via @gofundme
— The Chow Train (@TheChowTrain) April 16, 2015
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