The city of Raleigh and various charities came to an agreement Tuesday about where to distribute food. 

City staff members submitted a recommendation to the city council advising that food distribution be moved to a vacant warehouse across from Moore Square. 

Currently, a city ordinance prohibits food distribution without a permit, but charities said they had been doing it for years during the weekends when soup kitchens are closed. In August, police threatened to arrest a group of volunteers for handing out food in Moore Square. 

Since the threatened arrest, city officials have met with various charities to try and determine a new location for food distribution. City staff members announced Tuesday that the Salvation Army site would be the best option. The city owns the site and would offer it to charities for several years while planning a permanent handout site.

According to The News & Observer, none of the charities at the meeting objected to the proposal. 

“I’m really excited about all the things that have come forward tonight,” Alice McGee, a member of the charity Church in the Woods, told The N&O.

Assistant city manager Dan Howe told WUNC public radio that many business owners also supported the agreement.

“What we’re looking for in this facility is a place where anybody who’s needy and wishes to partake of this food can feel like they can come there, fell comfortable, feel safe, and I think the business community really supports that,” Howe said.

Howe said the city will bring people in from across the community to organize, paint and clean the facility. Howe also said he hopes to add bathrooms, hand-washing stations and several tables. 

“Hopefully, we’d have that up and running within about three months or so, and we’d try to fill in the gap on the weekends by opening this facility up,” Howe said. 

The city council still has to sign off on the recommendation.  Howe said council members could consider it at a meeting next month.-