A Place at the Table

Prohibitions on Sharing Food with Homeless People

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless jointly released a new report entitled A Place at the Table: Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness.  The report focuses on cities that have created ordinances, policies and tactics to limit groups from sharing food with homeless people.  Alternative solutions and programs to penalizing food sharing activities are highlighted in the report.

The report argues that targeting churches, service providers and volunteers by placing restrictions on providing food to homeless people is part of a broader trend toward criminalizing homelessness.  Criminalization measures include city laws that outlaw activities homeless people are forced to do in public spaces because of their lack of a home or shelter, such as sitting on sidewalks and eating and sleeping in public.  These laws have been created in communities nationwide and are an ineffective response to homelessness.  The report outlines how different types of laws and tactics are being used to restrict food sharing. It features food sharing restrictions in 23 communities across the country.

Click here to read the full report.