Feeding homeless brings legal trouble
Cities stress sanitation, safety, advocates angry
ATLANTA — When Adele Maclean joined others in an Atlanta park to feed the hungry the Sunday before Thanksgiving, she left with a citation and a summons to appear in court.
The case was dropped when she showed up in court earlier this month, but she and her lawyers say the citation for serving food without a permit was improper and demonstrates callousness toward the homeless. The city and some advocates say feeding people on the streets can hinder long-term solutions and raises sanitation concerns.
About 40 cities nationwide had active laws to restrict food sharing as of November 2014, and a few dozen more had attempted such restrictions, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Maclean, a volunteer with a movement called Food Not Bombs, was cited Nov. 19 by a Georgia State University police officer after her group refused to stop feeding the homeless in a downtown park, and her lawyers say city officers have been distributing a “misleading pamphlet” bearing the city seal that says a permit is required to feed people in public places.
That’s simply not true, said Southern Center for Human Rights attorney Gerry Weber, who’s representing Maclean. Permits are required for restaurants, food trucks and festival food vendors, not for people sharing food at no charge, he said.
“I salute genuinely the good will and good nature of all these people. There is no bad guy in this,” said Georgia State University police Sgt. Joseph Corrigan, a chaplain who leads the department’s homeless outreach program.
But instead of having feedings that pop up in different places all the time, it’s better to connect people with shelters or other established organizations that provide consistent help and services, he said.
Food safety, garbage and the human waste left behind when people are fed in a place with no bathrooms are also concerns, Corrigan said.