When last we checked on the New York City Department of Health, they were publishing radically oversimplified advertisements attacking sodas and burgers with a doctored photo. But now, Food Cop in Chief Michael Bloomberg has outdone even these extreme measures in food policing gone awry.
Under orders from the NYC Department of Health and a mayoral task force, the city Department of Homeless Services has banned donations of prepared food to city soup kitchens. Is the food unsafe? It doesn’t seem so: A New York Post contributor reports that a synagogue that has donated surplus food to homeless shelters for over a decade, for one, was turned away.
So what’s the reason for this stingy approach? The Post cites a conversation with the commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services saying that “the ban on food donations is consistent with Mayor Bloomberg’s emphasis on improving nutrition for all New Yorkers.” If Hizzoner thinks your charitable donation is too salty, you’ll have to throw out your leftovers. City contractors will be paid to do the work forbidden to New York’s altruists.
Today Bloomberg stood up for his administration’s program, telling the Post: “Take from one, you gotta take from [all].” Yes, even when called on the issue, Hizzoner sided with his salt scolds over the good Samaritans.
Of course, Bloomberg apparently doesn’t believe that salt is bad for everyone. If you happen to be on the Forbes 400 rich list, to have your own private foundation, and to be Mayor of New York, how much salt you eat is your own decision. Yes, Bloomberg himself reportedly loads his food with salt. New York’s homeless could ask him to pass the shaker, but his culinary charity is apparently in short supply.
