Philadelphia Woman Could Be Fined For Giving Out Free Lunches
Talk about a good deed being punished. This summer, Angela Prattis has been handing out daily free lunches to about 60 kids in her Chester, PA neighborhood. These meals are the same ones they would be getting if their school was in session. Now she faces a fine of $600 a day for doing so because she doesn’t have a variance to serve food in a residential neighborhood.
The summer lunch program is funded by the state department of education and administered by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. But it is Prattis, who distributes the free boxed lunches in front of her home and provides an area for the children to eat, that is on the hot seat after getting a letter from the Township of Chester which demanded she stop serving the food or face the hefty daily fine.
Prattis could apply for a variance, but it would cost her $1,000 just to do so with no guarantee it would be granted in a timely manner.
“Apparently the township has said there was one more hurdle that she had to jump from their point of view,” said Anne Ayella of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. “But from our point of view she’s done everything right.”
“We’re talking about children,” said Prattis. “Children. It’s unbelievable.”
Prattis has vowed to continue to feed the children until school starts in September no matter the consequences.
What do you think? Is Prattis a good Samaritan or should she follow the rules?