Woman who prepares meals for the homeless in Kenosha ordered to use commercial kitchen

KENOSHA — A southeast Wisconsin woman who uses her own money to buy food and prepare meals for the homeless has been warned by local health officials that she can't continue working from her kitchen at home.

The Kenosha Division of Health told Arnetta Griffin, 51, that she has to prepare the food in a commercial kitchen, the Kenosha News reported . The department began looking into Griffin's work after receiving a complaint questioning the legality of her meal service operation.

"They are happy with what I am doing, but they want me to go about it in the right way," Griffin said.

A commercial kitchen will make food preparation safer and make it easier for Griffin to store donated food, said Mark Melotik, the county's environmental health manager.

"Really, if we could find a commercial kitchen that she could use, it would be so much better for her," he said.

Griffin started God's Kitchen of Kenosha in May after a nearby homeless shelter closed. She serves up to 100 meals a day, and distributes them twice a day with help from her family.

Griffin said she hopes to move her operation to a local church.

"I really do want to stay in Uptown in the area, because that's where God sent me and that's where the people are right now," she said.

Melotik said he's also looking for possible locations.

Griffin said she's started receiving donations of food, money and supplies since word of her work began to spread.