INDIANAPOLIS  Neighbors are not particularly warmed by the prospect of a soup kitchen opening at a Near-Eastside church and have gone to city officials to try and stop it.
The Indianapolis Star reported that a half-dozen or so neighbors organized a group they call CINQ (Coalition for Indy Neighborhood Quality) to try to stop Christian Unity Missionary Baptist Church from opening "Miss Nellie's" soup kitchen.
The church, which hopes to feed several hundred people six days a week, is set to open the soup kitchen Dec. 10. Nearby Windsor Park residents have asked the Marion County Board of Health and zoning officials to halt the opening.
Among their complaints, the group said the church's location and facilities are inadequate to address the needs of hungry or homeless people. The church is not on a bus line or a major street, and the small parking lot at the rear of the church is insufficient to accommodate volunteers.
They are also concerned about church plans to operate an after-school program and addiction services.
"It just blows my brain. How can they operate all three of those things  and besides, they are right across from a library, where children go in and out," said neighbor Leslie McGinty.
Georgia Smith, wife of Pastor Robert L. Smith, said she cannot understand the complaints.
"What is wrong with these people?" she asked. "If we were doing something wrong, I could understand. We are not there to hurt anyone. Honestly, we have not even started yet. I don't know what their problem is."
