Neighbors on the Hare Krishna Temple: 'Adding a Restaurant to the Mix'

The Hare Krishna Temple on Esplanade Avenue in the Faubourg St John has long offered prasadam, or "spiritual food," on Sunday evenings. They've encountered some legal snags surrounding their ability to raise funds for the weekly vegetarian feast and are heading to Federal Court next week.

The details are sufficiently vague: they "need your support" because the judge "will make very important decisions which determine whether the Hare Krishnas can collect funds for their free food programs." And that's pretty much it. But the Faubourg St John has taken this to mean that they're going to start charging for the meals; if that's the case, that would add an unlicensed restaurant to Esplanade.

It isn't exactly clear that the temple is actually going to charge for the meals?"collect[ing] funds for their free food programs" is slightly different than "charging for Sunday meals"?so Eater has reached out to the Krishnas for more information about the exact nature of their funding issues. At the same time, however, the neighborhood association does make a number of other complaints about the Hare Krishna meal program, most notably regarding the large crowds it draws. For example: "Guests and Krishnas stand in lines blocking sidewalks, parking near corners, in bus stops and near fire hydrants," all of which is kind of shitty.

The court date is next Monday, and the Neighborhood Association is holding a meeting this evening to organize in opposition against it.

· Krishnas Want to Get Paid [FSJNA]
· International Society for Krishna Consciousness New Orleans [Official Site]