People v. Shifrin

Defendant was convicted of selling “ a bag of pigeon feed ” before 10:00 a.m. on a Sunday, in alleged violation of section 2147 of the Penal Law. That section, which prohibits generally the sale of any property on Sunday, contains, among others, the following exception: “ 1. Articles of food may be sold, served, supplied and delivered at any time before ten o ’clock in the morning ’ ’.

“ Food ” is uniformly defined by lexicographers as including nutriment for animals as well as humans (see, also, Penal Law, §§ 185, 187). Inasmuch as the Legislature has not limited the word “ food ” to that…