Move of Oceanside Soup Kitchen OKd

Brother Benno’s soup kitchen in Oceanside has won city approval to move from downtown, where it has caused controversy, to an industrial area near the Oceanside Municipal Airport.

The Planning Commission voted, 7-0, Monday night to let the 6-year-old kitchen relocate and begin new services, including job counseling, showers, a day room and substance abuse therapy.

However, the commission required Brother Benno’s, which is run by a nonprofit foundation, to follow strict rules to make sure its patrons do not loiter around nearby businesses.

Despite receiving acclaim, the existing Brother Benno’s kitchen on Minnesota Street, where 225 dinners a night are served, has drawn criticism that drunks and loiterers have burglarized and littered.