Originally Published: 05 JAN 24 15:40 ET

By Tolly Taylor

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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) -- Owners of a small business that supplies meals for Baltimore City-run homeless shelters told 11 News Investigates the city owes them thousands of dollars for months of unpaid work.

Badia Shephard and her husband own Taste of Home, which provides breakfast, lunch and dinner for hundreds of people across the city who are experiencing homelessness. With the city owing them hundreds of thousands of dollars since August, the couple has resorted to using their personal savings to keep food on the table for those who depend on it.

"My husband and I, we have taken our personal savings and paid upward of $120,000 just to cover our bills, so that we can continue operating," Shephard told 11 News Investigates. "It's stressful. I don't sleep some nights. It's driving us into poverty."

But Shephard told 11 News Investigates that time is running out.

She said providing meals for two city-funded homeless shelters over the past several years isn't just a point of pride; it also has a special significance because of her mother.

"For the last 20 years of our life, she was homeless," Shephard told 11 News Investigates.

As Taste of Home grew, Shephard said she was able to move her mother off the street and into her home.

But now, it could all be lost.

"We could lose our business. We could send our employees home, close the doors and not feed the shelters," Shephard told 11 News Investigates.

Shephard told 11 News Investigates problems started in June when a hospitality company called Wankawala started managing one of the homeless shelters at a Holiday Inn Express on Russell Street.

"I've sent out repeated emails asking, you know, 'When will we be paid?'" Shephard told 11 News Investigates. "We didn't have (Christmas). Thank God we don't have small children."

Since June, Shepard said she has only received payment for a third of her business' invoices and that she's still owed roughly $247,000.

Payment is supposed to take place every two weeks, as the city of Baltimore provides funds to Wankawala, which, in turn, is then responsible for paying Shephard's business.

"The responses from them were, 'We have to wait for the city. We have to wait for funds to come in from the city, and then we will pay you,'" Shephard told 11 News Investigates.

That's what the paper trail shows, too. In August, a Wankawala vice president emailed Shephard, claiming the city isn't paying.

The email read, in part: "Our debt is continuing to grow weekly, as well, and we want to be paid just the same as you do. Once we have payment, we will remit funds to you."

The Wankawala vice president made it clear, saying it's the city's fault: "Until we have a response from the city, our hands are tied."

Emails also show that, beginning in August, Shephard began copying different members of the Mayor's Office of Homeless Services to make them aware that meals being provided to 120 people every day at the Holiday Inn Express weren't being paid for.

"If the city or Wankawala does not pay, there's going to be no way that we can continue."

Shephard said the MOHS was helpful at one point in the fall, making sure she was paid for five invoices, but she said the office hasn't helped with the other 10 unpaid bills.

"I'm exhausted, and, you know, the first time I spoke to you about it, you know, I couldn't control my tears because we have to continue. We want to continue. But if the city or Wankawala does not pay, there's going to be no way that we can continue," Shephard told 11 News Investigates.

Shephard said she has reached out to the Baltimore City Inspector General's Office.

"Yes, I have. Ms. (Isabel) Cumming was very, very helpful, initially, when I called," Shephard told 11 News Investigates.

Shephard told 11 News Investigates that if she's paid the $247,000 owed, it'll change everything: She'll be able to pay her 15 employees on time, keep the lights on, and, at some point in the future, expand the business to provide meals for more shelters.

She also had a message for Mayor Brandon Scott.

"Pay your bill. We've already rendered the services," she said. "He needs to be aware. If he is unaware right now, he needs to make sure he is aware of everything that is happening in his office."

Wankawala did not respond to a request for comment from 11 News Investigates.

Kyana Underwood, a MOHS representative, sent a statement to 11 News Investigates, saying the office is working with Wankawala to "reconcile this account."

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