Fans of the beloved 90’s sitcom Seinfeld will no doubt remember the words of the Soup Nazi which were quickly directed at any customer who did not strictly follow his no nonsense rules for standing in line, ordering, and payment at his popular New York deli.
“No soup for you! Â NEXT!” the Soup Nazi would shout at the red faced customers who would silently slink away in shame after being lambasted for not adhering to his standards.
New York Mayor Bloomberg has taken Soup Nazi’s tactics to a whole new level with his Administration’s banning of food donations to all government-run facilities that serve New York City’s large homeless population.
The nanny-esque ban, put in place in March 2012, still stands despite city resources stretched to the breaking point by the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy on the City’s five Boroughs in October 2012.
Perplexingly, the reason for the ban is not the result of homeless getting ill from food contamination!
Rather, Mayor Bloomberg has become New York’s new Soup Nazi by insisting that because the nutritional content of donated food cannot be adequately assessed by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), homeless shelters are thereby required to turn away all Good Samaritans wishing to donate even such innocuous items as soup and bagels.
Seth Diamond, Commissioner of the DHS, defends the decision saying that the ban is in line with Bloomberg’s passion for improving the nutrition of all residents of New York City. Â The measure tightly controls what can and cannot be served at city run facilities for New York’s down and out including portion sizes and the amount of sodium, fat, fiber and calories per serving.
No exceptions to the strict ban are given even for established donation centers with a healthy track record such as Ohab Zedek, an Upper West Side Orthodox congregation which has donated freshly cooked and nutrient rich foods left over from synagogue events for over ten years.
Mayor Bloomberg’s relentless pursuit of a New York food utopia through implementation of his social justice agenda, while well meaning, is certain to fail (note the ban on all sugary sodas larger than 16 oz in September 2012 which head scratchingly exempted diet sodas which are arguably just as bad if not worse as diet drinks have been shown to trigger overeating).
The reason is that is removes all personal choice and responsible actions from the individual – be it positive or negative.  If people want to drink a Big Gulp, they should be free to do so.  And, if citizens like Glenn and Lenore Richter, who lead a team of food-delivery volunteers from their local congregation, want to donate fresh foods to homeless shelters in their neighborhood, they should have the freedom to perform such charitable activities as well.
Attempting to control consumer behavior with a socially “just” agenda cannot and never will accomplish health. Â It just creates a populace that becomes highly adept at circumventing the “rules” such as what happened in America during Prohibition.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: Nanny Bloomberg Bans Food Donations to Homeless Shelters
I think what you said Sara is exactly right. If the government keeps implementing rules like this to control our every move, all it is going to do is create tyrany and rebellion. Our government is really starting to scare me now more than ever. I keep wondering where are freedom is going. Don’t we live in America, Land of the free?!
Although there is a desperate need for nutrition info out there, banning donations is COMPLETELY inappropriate & counterproductive. It’s also stupid to ban a certain size cup – it’s just ineffectual! Bloomberg is not the parent of New Yorkers.
Its simple. If the number of ppl needing help goes up Bloomberg can prove the goverment needs to “help” more. Help is code for control. More control means more power and money to the dumbasses!
People with certain political agendas have been trying to prove we NEED the goverments help(control) for decades. The problem is that people are just too caring and nice, which makes their ideas look silly! The statistics after every disaster prove the goverments “help” is nearly innefective wastefulness while donations selected by people who care where their hard earned money goes has been multiple times more help. We need to get the goverment out of charity! Their stealing our money and throwing it away for nothing! Nonprofit organizations are many times more effective! This is a war on freedom, individualism and good grief-niceness of all things!
Kenny, your assertion is that feeding the homeless is not comparable to a potluck dinner. Please tell us how they are different in way that relates to this discussion.
Mat_7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat_7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Bloomberg is a man that produces evil fruit. What he has done is pure wickedness.
Luk_6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
Pro_28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
That’s the truth!
The government has gone mad!
I don’t see the point you’re making about saying grace.
Can we at least agree that feeding the homeless population and a potluck dinner aren’t comparable things?
#headdesk
Wow, if he’s that concerned what is he doing about GMOs?
We should definitely outlaw potlucks then. Or is it just homeless people who don’t have the right to take that risk?
Christine, don’t say that too loud. They tried doing that in Wisconsin where my mom lives.