Health Officials Scrutinizing Home-Based Food Giveaway

TRACY (CBS13) – A charity that has given away thousands of pounds of food at a time to hundreds of needy families may be forced to stop due to scrutiny from county officials.

Willis and Tiny Hill have spent nearly every Wednesday morning for almost two years to give away food to need families underneath the carport on their property, unloading huge amounts of food donated by local farms or bought with their own money.

Each person that comes to the giveaway gets two boxes filled with food, but just before Thanksgiving, the Hill Foundation received a letter from the San Joaquin Environmental Health Department. The agency said they received a complaint the family was illegally distributing food from their home.

The Hills said they have nowhere else to go, and despite the cease-and-desist order, they decided to continue the giveaway on Thanksgiving Day.

"They're going to have to take me to environmental health court or something," Tiny said. "I can't let those people down for Thanksgiving."

Recipients like Velda Johnson said the charity is a lifesaver during tough economic times, and Johnson said the generosity helped her so much she now helps run the operation.

"I see so many people come through that it helps," Johnson said.

The Hills moved their giveaway from the carport to a truck on the sidewalk in front of their home in hopes of complying with regulations, but they're hoping someone will give them a building to house the charity while they continue feeding families for Christmas.

Environmental health officials said they plan to make a visit to the Hills' home before they make any decisions on how to handle the complaint.

The Hills Foundation started out helping an average of 10 recipients, but now handle almost 300 in a single day.