Depending on the city this kind of stuff can happen. Whether the pizza thing happened is questionable, but most cities have regulations that try to drive out the homeless population. I work at a food closet that distributes food to a couple hundred people a week. We have permits, and licenses that we need to keep up to date and paid for, so that we can do what we do. If we don't our operation is shut down and depending on the circumstances people can be taken to jail.
What if he did get arrested for not having a license, but it was completely unrelated to him handing out pizzas. Like he was arrested for not having a drivers license or a fishing licenses.
Once I was handing out water bottles to the homeless by a Walmart and one of them told me to be careful because the police could fine and/or arrest me. It is because it encourages a vagrant population and it is also to protect the homeless from those who would harm them by poisoning or giving bad food. 2 sides to every coin. ~M
It's a safety issue. By requiring licenses, the government makes sure people are giving out safe food. Someone malicious could poison those pizzas and no one would know. Plus the guy could be liable if someone got sick. For example, in Las Vegas the buffets can't give away excess food because if someone gets sick they would be liable.
There is a federal law signed in 1996 by President Clinton that protects restaurant owners who, with the best of intentions, want to feed people in need. It gives them immunity for being liable for food donated to shelters or places homeless people eat. Owners and managers say it's against the law (or they are at risk for a lawsuit) for 2 reasons.
1. A lot actually believe it is.
2. It takes more man power and more paid workers to box up the food and deliver it.
It's sad, but many times it's cheaper to just throw it away.
*just for clarification: it doesn't mean a worker can take food at the end of the day and go donate it without the owners consent. That is still theft.
No some municipalities are so anal as to not allow giving food or even kids' lemonade stands without the "proper" paperwork. Fines sure, but I've never heard of anyone being arrested.
The rationale is not that people could poison others on purpose, but that the food might not be prepared in sanitary conditions, might not be kept warmed or refrigerated properly, etc. Our school couldn't prepare its own food for hot lunch because the countered were wood and not stainless steel. Also, there are lots of laws to protect union members...like how that girl was given a "Cease and Desist" order preventing her from braiding hair (for money) because she didn't have a cosmetologist license. Maybe you need training in the caustic chemicals that dye hair, but just braiding?
Think about those unintended consequences when you say, "There should be a law about..."
I think you hit the nail directly on the head when you mentioned unions. Unions were once useful and needed, but all they do now is drive prices up and competition down, and of course they all contribute heavily to Democrat politicians.
1. A lot actually believe it is.
2. It takes more man power and more paid workers to box up the food and deliver it.
It's sad, but many times it's cheaper to just throw it away.
*just for clarification: it doesn't mean a worker can take food at the end of the day and go donate it without the owners consent. That is still theft.
Think about those unintended consequences when you say, "There should be a law about..."