Kathy Kite, a grandmother from Harrisburg, Missouri, has vowed to continue serving free homemade breakfasts to her small community despite receiving a letter from the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department ordering her to stop without a food permit.

Kite told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday, August 26, 2026, "I'm not gonna stop providing for my community. I wouldn't stop feeding my children, I wouldn't stop feeding my family. I'm not gonna stop feeding my community cause they are my family….This is bigger than that. It's about love and appreciation because they appreciate what I do."

The letter, received in July, warned Kite that failure to obtain a food permit could result in legal action, including fines and jail time. Kite expressed fear after reading the letter, saying, "It hurt my feelings, and it upset me because I knew at that point I was afraid I was gonna go to jail because the letter stated that if I didn't stop making breakfast for my community, that I was facing fines and jail, and so I posted it on Facebook and people responded."

What started as a breakfast for a few regulars has grown to serve many in the town of fewer than 300 people. The health department's letter also stated that Kite must install a commercial kitchen in her home to comply, a requirement she says would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Dave Roland, director of allied litigation at the Goldwater Institute, commented to Fox News Digital that "Kathy’s story is a textbook example of bureaucracy run amok."

Despite the pressure, Kite remains steadfast in her commitment to her community.

Sources