The St. Agnes hot lunch program for the needy is finally back on track this week after an eight month bureaucratic boondoggle. The Chester County Health Department (CCHD) shut down the hot meals last summer citing concerns of food safety because the lunches are prepared at the private homes of volunteers and then transported to the church, as opposed to being prepared in a commercial kitchen.

Many in the local community are thrilled and relieved the program is resuming this week after an eight-month hiatus, but some believe CCHD was wrong in their handling of the situation.

West Chester Borough Councilman Bernie Flynn (D), representing the ward where the church is located, was pointed in his comments following the resolution.

“CCHD Director Jeanne Franklin should have dismissed this situation in September when she realized the department made a mistake. But Franklin can never be wrong. Thankfully, God is good all the time, the sunshine again brightens the people we are supposed to care for — our less fortunate brothers and sisters.”

Chester County announced the resolution in a news release Friday. “The Health Department supports St. Agnes’ launch of a new community-based membership program that allows food prepared in private homes to be served to individuals within the program using best practices for food storage, handling, and temperature and time controls.”

CCHD Director Franklin said, “our purpose, as public health professionals, has always been to ensure food provided to the public is safe, and we are pleased to collaborate on an approach that St. Agnes provides education, meals and hospitality to individuals who have come to appreciate and rely on their services.”

St. Agnes Program Director, Barbara Kirby, said she is relieved and thankful to resume the hot meals to those in need.

“It has been a long, strange, and arduous journey since August of 2024 when the Chester County Health Department told us that we could no longer serve home cooked meals to the poor and the vulnerable in our community,’ said Kirby in a statement. “But thanks be to God and to the hundreds of men and women of good will who continued to supply restaurant meals, meals cooked in commercial kitchens, and store prepared foods we were able to continue providing food for the hungry who come to the Church in need.”

“Now, with the formation of the Saint Agnes Dorothy Day Society, Society members will be able to enjoy nutritionally balanced, delicious home cooked meals once again. Thanks to Josh Maxwell, Chair of the Chester County Commissioners and the other commissioners, PA State Representative Chris Pielli, and borough councilman, Bernie Flynn, Eileen Keefe, General Counsel for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Jeanne Franklin, Director of the CCHD and all who worked diligently to make this so.”

State Representative Chrill Pielli (D), who represents the district where the church is located, is an ardent supporter of the program and issued a statement on February 12, 2025, urging the county to find a quick solution.

“As a past Homeless Veterans Program Director, I learned and greatly appreciate that the St. Agnes Day Room has been faithfully serving and feeding the hungry for over 32 years, offering refuge and support to many who have nowhere else to turn,” said Pielli. “Their dedicated volunteers have worked strenuously to help alleviate the dangerous rise of food insecurity in our community and help folks not only survive but succeed. That is all the more reason why I urge and support a quick resolution to this problem that will allow them to continue their crucial mission to help our neighbors in times of need.”

Pielli’s statement clarified the state regulations which allow an exemption from certain rules for religious institutions; however, a county with its own health department can enact more stringent regulations.

“However, counties which do have their own health departments, like Chester County, are given the authority to enforce or exempt food safety regulations. Therefore, even though the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture [PDA] allows a license exemption for this type of non-profit service in their PDA regulations, the PDA in this case, cannot override the County decisions, nor can they provide a license exemption.”

Director Franklin publicly acknowledged at a County Board of Health meeting on January 30, 2025, her department is holding religious institutions to higher standards than the state. Therefore, this situation could have been handled differently and prevented eight months of chaos for the program administrators and volunteers. And more importantly, those in need would not have been denied hot lunches since the summer.

Additionally, while the problem is now resolved for St. Agnes and West Chester residents served by the program, there are many other churches and nonprofit organizations in the county that provide similar services, and this solution does not address the bigger problem.

Recently elected County Commissioner Eric Roe (R) agreed and issued a lengthy statement.

“I’m really glad that St. Agnes’ hot meal program will resume operations. I know how hard our Health Department and its director, Jeanne Franklin, worked to make this happen. Our new County CEO, David Byerman, was also very helpful in pushing this resolution forward. I’ve spent many hours in meetings and on phone calls with our Health Department and St. Agnes, and I’ve seen firsthand how both sides worked so hard to come to this resolution.

“I remain concerned, however, that we have not resolved the issue beyond St. Agnes’ hot meal program. It’s my understanding that Chester County’s Health Department is proactive, rather than reactive, in regulating how churches serve meals. Some neighboring counties, by contrast, are reactive, rather than proactive, toward churches. Those counties’ policies more closely conform to the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, in my opinion. Restaurants are one thing, churches are another.

“Put simply, the Church can’t be the Church if it can’t feed the poor. While the County Health Department has an important job to do in protecting public health, there comes a point when regulations can become too onerous for the Church to do its job. It’s just not fair to hold churches to the same standards as retail food establishments. Not all churches have the resources and lawyers that St. Agnes and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have, either. Mine certainly doesn’t.

“The Chester County Health Department’s job is to prioritize public health. My job as a commissioner, however, is to balance public health with the constitutional rights of the people. My goal moving forward is to set a more workable standard for all of Chester County’s churches.”

Most counties and municipalities in Pennsylvania are regulated by the state health department; however, seven counties, including Chester County, and four municipalities have their own health department. The state reports 46 percent of its population is served by a local health department.

CCHD has a $15.6 million budget for 2025, and the two of the three county commissioners, Josh Maxwell (D) and Marian Moscowitz (D) voted in December to increase taxes by 13.4 percent. 

While a majority of the CCHD budget is funded with state and federal grants, the cost to the county varies year over year. The 2025 budget estimates a cost of close to four million dollars to county taxpayers. However, at the January Board of Health meeting, Director Franklin said the county share can range from “three to eight million.”

Should our county spend millions of taxpayer dollars to support an agency that actively worked against a local church to feed the poor? Why are we raising taxes to fund government overreach?

Charity and volunteering are the cornerstones of local communities. Rather than relying on the government to help those in need, benevolent charities often fill a vital role that benefits the volunteer and the recipient. Such has been the case of St. Agnes parish in West Chester and hundreds of other churches in the region.

Two St. Agnes volunteers highlight the importance of this program. 

“Those of us who have cooked for years are thrilled with this news,” said Cindee White. “Through this journey our community joined together to figure out how to keep providing nourishing food.”

“I’m especially thankful to once again be able to provide nourishing and nutritious home-cooked meals to the Dayroom,’ said Angela Kozinski. “‘Breaking bread’ is not just about food — it’s about community.”

While we should be happy that this program is restored and our most vulnerable residents will be cared for, we cannot lose sight of the bigger issue and continue to push the county to relax its regulations and interpretations for religious and nonprofit organizations. Chester County needs more community and less government.

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@broadandliberty.com.