WARREN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – A church in Warren that also serves as a food pantry has been cited for blight and public health issues by the city’s property maintenance department.
On Wednesday, the city and Curtiss Ostosh, pastor of the Harvest Time Christian Fellowship, confirmed that blight crews were at the property removing items.
On Nine Mile Road in Warren, thousands of people every month come to the Harvest Time Christian Fellowship for the church’s popular food pantry.
But in recent weeks, the food pantry received a citation from the city, noting several public health-related issues, including an outdoor tent that housed homeless people and the outdoor storage of raw foods on the ground in cardboard boxes that appear to have been compromised by animals.
When Ostosh spoke to CBS Detroit, he was upset about how the City went about its citation.
“It’s disheartening to think that a city aggressively came against us and took this action, they threw out a ton of stuff that was useful that was good that was used in our ministry,” he said.