Volunteers who have been serving free meals in Issaquah, Wash., for about 15 years say their program is suddenly under threat.
The small group of volunteers pay for the meals out of their own pockets. They serve lunch to members of the community on Thursdays and dinner on the weekends, about 400 meals a month.
On a recent Thursday, shortly before noon, a line has already formed by the door of the community hall right next to Issaquah’s police department.
Along with elderly and disabled people, day laborers are among those who come here for a free meal.
Felix Ramos is one of them. Ramos lives in Bellevue, but makes the trip to Issaquah because everyone there is friendly and the food is good, he said.
The volunteers behind the program say the city is threatening to impede their access to the community hall with a security fence.
The city is planning to build a $500,000 gated security fence around the parking lot shared by the volunteers and police. The city said the fence is needed to protect police vehicles.
Volunteers like Wes Howard-Brook say not being able to easily park next to the hall where they bring in hot food will put their program at risk and send the wrong message.
"What we're trying to say is that putting up a fence says we're afraid. That our people who are supposed to be protecting us, the police, are afraid of us. They have the guns, they have the law, and they're afraid of us. So we're saying, what kind of message is that," Howard-Brook said.
The city said in the last several years patrol vehicle tires have been slashed and there have been hostile interactions in the parking lot.
Liz Tidyman, another volunteer, said the fence is unnecessary and that the area, which includes a playground, is safe.
City officials said they plan to contract a company to build the fence sometime next year. They intend to buzz volunteers in one by one to allow them to briefly use the loading parking spaces and still access the building for the free meal program.
