HALIFAX, NS-A local soup kitchen truck has a new home, following complaints that its presence on a busy downtown street was attracting undesirable people.

Since September 2003, the Salvation Army mobile soup truck was parked four nights each week on Spring Garden Road, as volunteers handed out hot meals, coffee, food, boots, gloves and blankets to anyone who needed them.

In January, the Spring Garden Area Business Association sent a newsletter to area businesses highlighting concerns about the truck. The association truck was drawing needy people to the area when their needs could be met elsewhere.

"If you’re giving something away free, inevitably you’re going to draw a lower clientele, which are street people and people who are homeless," Tony Joseph, co-owner of Gatsby’s bar and restaurant, told CBC News.

But Salvation Army spokesperson Scott Costen says the mobile soup kitchen meets an important need. It is the only one in Halifax Regional Municipality, serving a population of 360,000. The week after Hurricane Juan, it served 3,500 meals to those without power. During the winter cold snaps, the truck tours downtown Halifax taking street people to shelters or giving out sleeping bags and blankets to those who prefer to stay outside.

"Most evenings we’re serving a minimum of 40 people," Costen says. "These are people from all different backgrounds. The one unifying factor is that they’re all in need and we help them without reservation and without discrimination.

"We had permission to park there from McDonald’s, whose restaurant we parked directly in front of," he adds. "We received no formal complaints from merchants or residents. It was not until the newsletter was referred to in local media that we became aware of the issue."

Dawn Sloane, municipal councillor for downtown Halifax, says the issue is not the lower income clientele, but safety.

"Spring Garden Road is a very busy street. The truck was stopping in the evening in a no-stopping, no-parking bus stop zone. Pedestrians walk across the street, stopping traffic. The merchants association…had nothing against them being there. It’s just that it wasn’t a safe spot," she says.

After several meetings, the Salvation Army agreed to move their truck to Grafton Street, a few blocks from their original location.

"The decision [to move to Grafton Street] was made in the best interests of our clients," says Costen. "We’re not moving out, we’re moving up. It’s a win-win situation. People naturally congregate there. We made the decision based on the interests of the people we serve. And we’re also happy that we could help the concerns of the business association and local politicians."

The municipality has also agreed to remove one parking meter to make room for the truck and to provide a permit. They are even putting up a sign saying that the spot is only for Salvation Army soup truck parking.

"It is a prime location, but to be able to help them find a permanent home in which they can offer their services to whoever needs it, I think it’s worth the money," says Sloane. "I’m so glad we were able to accommodate them in a wonderful spot."