{"id":20730,"date":"2013-11-27T12:55:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-27T17:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=20730"},"modified":"2013-11-27T12:55:34","modified_gmt":"2013-11-27T17:55:34","slug":"food-distribution-center-may-solve-moore-square-feeding-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2013\/11\/27\/food-distribution-center-may-solve-moore-square-feeding-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Distribution Center May Solve Moore Square Feeding Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charitable groups who want to feed the homeless near Moore Square may soon have a building in which to do so.<\/p>\n

A task force charged with balancing the needs of the homeless with complaints from area residents and business owners this week suggested a temporary food distribution facility followed by the creation of a permanent space. <\/p>\n

The Council’s Law and Public Safety Committee Tuesday approved recommendations from the Food Distribution Task Force<\/a>. The group was created after intense public outcry in late August<\/a>, when charitable groups were told to stop distributing food in the park or face arrest. <\/p>\n

\"Moore<\/a>

John Wall<\/p><\/div>\n

The task force recommends a temporary food distribution center, an awareness campaign educating organizations on feeding the homeless, other \u201ccare points\u201d where groups can distribute food throughout Raleigh and a 10-year plan for a permanent facility to feed and assist homeless with other needs.<\/p>\n

Their plan calls for the temporary facility to be located near Moore Square, behind the former Salvation Army building at 215 S. Person St. The 3,200-square-foot warehouse was part of the former Salvation Army complex that is now owned by the City of Raleigh. <\/p>\n

If approved by the full Council, the temporary center could open in spring 2014, serving food on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

The building’s renovation costs are estimated at $111,000 and include adding temporary restrooms along with tables, chairs, trash cans and refrigerators to the space. The estimated yearly cost of operations is $58,000. City staff said they hope contributions from charitable organizations will defray the costs. <\/p>\n

Assistant City Manager Daniel Howe said Wake County will not contribute to the project, but agreed to contribute to a future permanent facility. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe county did say to us that they were unable at this time to provide any financial assistance to any of the temporary solutions,\u201d Howe said. <\/p>\n

\"Sitting<\/a>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

File photo: Sitting on the grass in Moore Square, Larry Underwood, left, says he sleeps outdoors and Samuel L. Johnson, right, has a place to live on Avent Ferry Road. <\/p><\/div>\n

Task force members said they will have recommendations for the permanent \u201cone-stop shop\u201d facility within six months.<\/p>\n

Councilor John Odom questioned whether the temporary facility would affect recent investments in the Moore Square area<\/a>, a statement echoed by Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin. <\/p>\n

\u201cYour point is a valid point, and that is something we need to address in the long-term solution,\u201d Baldwin said. <\/p>\n

The City Council will discuss the item Tuesday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The City Council’s Law and Public Safety Committee Tuesday approved task force recommendations for a temporary food distribution facility so that charitable organizations can feed the homeless near Moore Square.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37526,"featured_media":19902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[1375,167],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37526"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}