Want to feed the homeless? Sure, that'll be $500 please

An Alabama pastor's efforts to feed the homeless have been thrown into doubt after city officials told him he would need to pay $500 for a food truck permit.

Pastor Rick Wood, from Lord's House of Prayer, Oneonta, has been distributing hot dogs and bottles of water to the homeless in Birmingham for the last six years without any problem.

He says he is "shocked" by the demand from the authorities, which is the result of a new city ordinance passed last December. 

The ordinance requires that all food trucks operating in the city get a permit, which can cost up to $500.

ThinkProgress reports that Mr Wood was stopped by local police last month as he made his usual round of deliveries. 

He expressed his anger in an interview with ABC 33/40 News: "That makes me so mad.  These people are hungry.  They're starving.  They need help from people.  They can't afford to buy something from a food truck."

He continued: "I'm just so totally shocked that the city is turning their back on the homeless like this.

"It's like they want to chase them out of the city. And the homeless can't help the position they're in. They need help."

Watch the ABC report here: 

News
Between two cultures: an Afghan Christian in the Netherlands
Between two cultures: an Afghan Christian in the Netherlands

Esther*, who was born in Afghanistan and raised in the Netherlands after her family fled the country when she was three, speaks to Christian Today about her journey of faith, life between two cultures, and her hopes and fears for Afghanistan’s future.

The groundbreaking BBC series that brought Jesus to TV screens
The groundbreaking BBC series that brought Jesus to TV screens

Seventy years ago, in February 1956, the BBC aired the mini-series “Jesus of Nazareth”, which was the first filming of the life of Jesus to be created for television. This is the story …

Christians mobilised to oppose extreme abortion law changes
Christians mobilised to oppose extreme abortion law changes

Christians are being asked to urge peers to support amendments tabled by Baronesses Monckton and Stroud.

Thousands of Christians return to churches in north-east Nigeria despite years of terror
Thousands of Christians return to churches in north-east Nigeria despite years of terror

The faithful are returning “in their thousands, not hundreds” despite more than a decade of brutal violence.