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
What we can learn from Mary of Bethany
What we can learn from Mary of Bethany

Dear reader, what would it look like for you to be a Mary of Bethany in this day and age?

Why the world needs more women like Dullari
Why the world needs more women like Dullari

In the UK, gender equality conversations often focus on pay gaps or female representation in leadership, but in Nepal the struggle is far more basic. It is whether a girl can go to school, whether a woman can seek medical care without permission from her husband, and whether she can live in her own home without fear.

Fresh drive to reach 100,000 girls with anti-trafficking programme
Fresh drive to reach 100,000 girls with anti-trafficking programme

An international charity has committed to reaching 100,000 girls worldwide who are at risk of human trafficking. 

The story of the Bible’s female leaders
The story of the Bible’s female leaders

8 March is International Women’s Day. In the Bible we can read about the roles that many women played in leadership and ministry. This is the story …