Why Is It Illegal to Feed the Homeless in Some U.S. Cities?

Arnold Abbott is a 90-year old World War II veteran and retired jewelry salesman. He was arrested last year and may face up to 60 days in jail or pay $500 in fines. What was his crime?

Mr. Abbott is guilty of feeding the homeless in public parks in Florida. This may sound ridiculous, but Fort Lauderdale, like many other cities, has passed ordinances that criminalize feeding the homeless.

So far, 71 cities across the United States have passed or have attempted to pass such laws and many more are in the process of doing so.

Feeding Ban Ordinances: Understanding the History Behind the Law

What exactly is a “feeding ban” ordinance? Many of these feeding ban ordinances regulate public property use and will require feeding sites to stay a certain distance away from each other or residential areas. Typically, the ordinances also require a permit for the food sharing or order a complete ban on the act. It’s not uncommon to see the following types of arrests and fines since the passing of these laws:

• In 2011, 20 activists in Orlando were arrested while they were passing out food for 35 homeless individuals.
• In 2013, police arrested members of a church group in Raleigh, North Carolina for handing out coffee and sausage biscuits.
• In 2014, six people where fined $2,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida for feeding the homeless at a park. (The fines were eventually dropped).

Many of these cities stand by their ordinances and claim that the motivations behind these laws are to:

• Ensure that food safety regulations are being followed
• Limit the activities that occur after the food is passed out, such as fights, drug use, and general loitering in city parks
• Stop the “street feeding” that enables and promotes homelessness

Advocates for the homeless, however, view this as a pretext. Instead, many believe that the cities are banning these charitable acts because it makes homelessness more apparent and visible in these cities.

Whatever the reason may be, many people do not agree with the ordinances, nor the enforcement of them. In December of last year, a judge suspended the enforcement of the feeding ban in Fort Lauderdale and ordered mediation to resolve the issue. Mr. Abbott was the challenger of the ordinance and continues to feed the homeless.

Are these Laws Discriminatory Towards the Homeless?

The number of homeless U.S. citizens rises every day, at an alarming rate. However, despite their growing population they are not considered a protected class that should be protected under the eyes of the law. With the growing number of homeless individuals, many cities and counties across the nation are criminalizing activities like sleeping outside, panhandling, parking your car in one spot for a long period of time, park curfews, or blocking the sidewalk with personal belongings.

While compassionate residents might protest about the harsh laws, the legal system retains the right to create and enforce these laws. The laws are created and upheld on the basis of “keeping the streets safe” and public hygeine. Large groups of homeless camps can lead to problems with trash and sewage, which can easily lead to an outbreak of an illness like Hepatitis B. However, the reality is that we are simply perpetuating a growing problem. Laws that criminalize activities that homeless individuals do to survive will only make it even harder for them to recover and no longer be homeless.

Despite people like Mr. Abbott, our government and system is designed to make it even harder for our homeless population to find a new start. While there might be some valid legal reasons/concerns as to why we want to keep people off the streets or from setting long-term camps in our public parks, we need to find another solution and not further a serious problem.

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