Harrisburg woman continues serving free breakfast despite Health Department legal battle

HARRISBURG, Mo. (KMIZ)

What started as a local restaurant that decided to stop serving breakfast has turned into a worldwide story of a Harrisburg woman wanting to serve her community and getting the attention of the president of the United States.

Kathy Kite wakes up at 3 a.m. every morning to cook breakfast and hands out food to anyone who is hungry and wants a hearty meal on their way to work or school. Kite opened her doors in May to her community after the only restaurant in town, where she worked, decided to stop serving breakfast other than doughnuts.

Two regulars at the restaurant, who Kite says have diabetes, can't eat donuts every day, and that's not a healthy option for anyone to eat. She started to invite members of the community to her home in the morning to pick up food that she offers for free. After a social media post about Kite opening her doors, more people from the community came in.

Kite said she received a letter in June from the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services stating that she was running an illegal restaurant and that there was a complaint that she was making people sick and had feral cats.

Kite has refused to stop.

"Everybody who knows me knows. You're sitting in my house. My house is not filthy," Kite told ABC 17 News. "I am allergic to cats. My eyes will shut if I'm around cats, so I don't have cats. So it was a bogus complaint. But instead of them coming in checking it out, they sent me this letter."

According to Kite, she was told that she needs a commercial kitchen to continue cooking.

On Wednesday, Kite received a signed letter from President Donald Trump and a photograph of himself. The letter included words of encouragement.

“Your generosity, dedication, and selfless acts of service continue to enrich the lives of your neighbors, strengthen your community, and exemplify the spirit that makes our Nation so special,” Trump’s letter states.

Discussion over the issue has gained national attention in recent weeks. Kite said a friend heard the story on Australian radio.

"I cried, because this is just a simple thing, you know?" Kite said Thursday. "I'm doing it because I love people. I love my community. These are my guys. You know, I have a lot of friends that I'm very honored and I'm very humbled that it has reached the white House."

Kite said that she never stopped serving breakfast because of community demand. The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services told Kite she cannot cook for others without a permit or a license.

"I don't need that to make my friends breakfast, you know," said Kite. "That is why I'm standing up. Because no one has the right to tell me who I can or can't invite into my home and feed."

Kite was sent a second letter from the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services regarding an "open" sign in her yard. Kite told ABC 17 News that she always leaves her door open so people know to come in for breakfast, and she put the "open" sign in her yard because it was raining and she couldn't leave her door open. The letter from the health department stated that there would be legal ramifications.

Kite removed the sign, but said that she would not stop serving breakfast.

"Everyone is welcome here," Kite told ABC 17 News. "I spread the love. That's what this is about, you know. This is something that was put on my heart as a child.

"We all come from different cultures, different walks of life, different financial situations, but we all bleed, you know, and so everybody is entitled to the same treatment. And if you're hungry, swing mine. I'll give you a burrito or a biscuit or a cup of coffee."

An Aug. 27 letter to the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services from Kite’s lawyer, Dave Roland of the Goldwater Institute, challenges the department’s claim that the county’s food code was violated.

“Your letter implied that the Department did not consider the Food Code to apply if Ms. Kite was feeding ‘friends and family,’ but you did not identify any part of the Food Code that defines ‘friends and family,’ nor did you indicate what factors the Department would use to determine whether one of Ms. Kite’s guests was a ‘friend’ she was allowed to serve food at her home or a ‘member of the public’ she was not permitted to serve food at her home,” the letter states.

Health department spokesman Austin Krohn told ABC 17 News on Wednesday that there was no update on the situation.