Missouri grandma ordered to stop serving free breakfasts refuses to back down, 'They are my family'

A Missouri grandmother says she was frightened she could end up in legal trouble after county health officials told her to stop serving free homemade breakfasts without a permit, but she told Fox News Digital she has no intention of giving up the morning tradition that brings her tiny community together.

"I'm not gonna stop providing for my community," Kathy Kite of Harrisburg, Missouri, told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday. "I wouldn't stop feeding my children, I wouldn't stop feeding my family. I'm not gonna stop feeding my community cause they are my family….This is bigger than that. It's about love and appreciation because they appreciate what I do."

Kite has been cooking a free breakfasts for her neighbors and friends since May. In July, she received a letter from the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department that said she needed to obtain a food permit or face possible legal action.

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"I got the letter in July, it upset me, because I didn't understand what I was doing wrong," Kite said. "It hurt my feelings, and it upset me because I knew at that point I was afraid I was gonna go to jail because the letter stated that if I didn't stop making breakfast for my community, that I was facing fines and jail, and so I posted it on Facebook and people responded." 

The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department denied that their letter threatened jail time, in comments to Fox News Digital.

Kite said that after the local gas station where she works stopped serving breakfast following COVID, regular customers kept asking for it, so she invited them to her home and began cooking breakfast for them, herself.

Kite said that what began as an early-morning breakfast for a few regulars quickly spread across the town of fewer than 300 people. More residents began stopping by for coffee and breakfast, staying to talk about farming, the weather and childhood memories. The growing sense of community motivated her to wake up even earlier to cook, and soon local mothers were bringing their children by for breakfast before school.

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Kite said the letter from the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department says that she must install a commercial kitchen in her home.

"In order for me to comply with what they're asking, I would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a commercial kitchen in my home," Kite said. "I live in a 115-year-old home. It's a beautiful home. I'm not gonna jeopardize the integrity of my home to put a commercial kitchen in to make some free burritos."

She said she would welcome city officials into her home so they could see firsthand what she is doing.

"Come have a burrito. I'm [not] doing anything wrong. I don't, I just, I can't understand. Come to my home, see my home, and see that my home is not dirty," Kite said. "I don't have cats. I'm not making people sick. I am just a grandma cooking a meal for my friends and family and enjoying life."

The Goldwater Institute sent a letter Thursday to the Boone County health department demanding they answer questions by Friday about their legal reasoning. The group said that no lawsuit has been filed to date, but it is on the table.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Dave Roland, Goldwater Institute's director of allied litigation, said, "Kathy’s story is a textbook example of bureaucracy run amok. Citizens should not be required to get the government’s permission before offering passers-by some coffee and a bite to eat while they socialize. The government exists to protect this sort of neighborly kindness, not to punish it."

The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department told Fox News Digital that food permits are not required when providing food for family and friends, but a permit is required when providing food to the public, citing the Missouri food code.

"At the time the complaint was received, Ms. Kite’s home had an open sign, tip jar, advertised food on social media and a sign in her yard — all things that are typically associated with a food establishment," the spokesperson said.

"No citations or cease-and-desist orders were issued," the statement continued. "We also did not threaten jail time. We sent a letter to Ms. Kite following a complaint we received that food served in her establishment made someone ill. Our role in public health is to work with food establishments to promote safe food practices and prevent food-borne illnesses. There are safe, allowable ways to provide homemade food to the community with and without a food permit. We regularly work together with individuals and businesses who want to provide free food to the community."