By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
ORLANDO, United States – In the past three weeks, city officials have arrested twelve members of the activist group, Food Not Bombs, for their defiance of a local ordinance. The ordinance restricts groups to feeding 25 or more people no more than twice per year in each Orlando park. According to ABC News, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has gone so far as to call the group, “Food Terrorists.” Orlando Food Not Bombs says that they will continue to feed the homeless despite the ordinance.
- Members of “Food Not Bombs” serving homeless in Orlando. (Photo Courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel)
Food Not Bombs is an international organization known for protests against war, poverty, and environmental destruction, as reported by ABC News. Recently the group has made it a point to serve the homeless of Orlando with healthy, vegan meals.
According to the Huffington Post, the city passed the ordinance in 2006 after residents complained. The twice a day feedings became “disruptive” and would often leave a mess. Food Not Bombs questioned the constitutionality of the ordinance in 2008 and won; the federal district court held that their actions were protected speech. However, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling, holding that the limitations were not unduly burdensome.
Authorities most recently arrested four activists for serving pancakes and donuts to the homeless in Lake Eola Park, in downtown Orlando. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the law brings a penalty of 60 days in jail, or a $500 fine, or both.
In an interview with The Orlando Sentinel, Eric Montanez, a member of Food Not Bombs said, “We feel like the park is where the people should be,” and “the real issue is that the city just doesn’t want the homeless here.”
Cathy Jackson, the executive director of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida disagrees. According to her interview with ABC News, there are about seven shelters within a mile and a half of Lake Eola Park. She and Mayor Dyer believe that Food Not Bombs is creating more of a publicity stunt than providing a helpful service. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Food Not Bombs publicized the event online and the media were encouraged to attend.
The city allows groups to obtain 2 permits per year for each of the 42 parks in Orlando, allowing 84 feedings a year. The Huffington Post reports that there are at least 10 other groups who proceed with legal feedings in the Orlando area.
However, Theresa McDonald, a homeless woman who uses a wheelchair says that she relies on Food Not Bombs because she cannot afford even the minimal prices charged by the shelters, and it is difficult for her to move from park to park, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Food Not Bombs will again challenge the ordinance, and plans to continue serving food in the meantime.
For more information, please visit:
Huffington Post — Orlando Activists Arrested For Feeding Homeless in Defiance of City Ordinance — 10 June 2011
ABC News — Arrested for Feeding the Homeless in Violation of New Orlando Law — 9 June 2011
Associated Press — 4 More Homeless Activists Arrested in Orlando — 6 June 2011
Orlando Sentinel — Anti-Poverty Group Defies Ban on Feeding Homeless in Orlando’s Parks — 18 May 2011
Orlando Food Not Bombs — Text of Orlando’s Anti-Homeless Feeding Ordinance — 2006
