AS YOU DID IT TO ONE OF THE LEAST, YOU DID IT TO ME. The All Saints Episcopal Church, in a tony neighborhood of Chicago, operates a food bank with health services.

The single file outside is as tidy an economic barometer as any Labor Department news release. Federal stimulus aside, the line only gets bigger and inspires grousing by a few neighbors that the church is “attracting” misbegotten souls from afar.

A recent news story suggests some neighbors have gone beyond grousing.

Chicago Police Officer Robert Perez said a church official told police the damage may have been related to a story published Thursday by the New York Times that noted the economic disparities between those who frequent the All Saints soup kitchen and the residents of the surrounding neighborhood. The story referred to the church as a place that keeps "fellow citizens from drowning."

Perry said seven months ago church officials met with the alderman and neighbors over safety concerns regarding the soup kitchen. After those conversations, the church agreed to pay $12,000 out of the kitchen's budget for another off-duty police officer, in addition to the one they already had providing security. That seemed to quell the complaints, she said.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.