The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Houston to stop the enforcement of a charitable food ordinance, alleging it violates the First Amendment.
The lawsuit comes after the city issued 92 citations since March 2023 against Food Not Bombs Houston, a grassroots organization that provides food to people dealing with food insecurity. It operates four days a week near the Central Houston Public Library downtown.
The city says Food Not Bombs violated the ordinance because it didn’t have consent from the property owner to provide food to more than five people at a time.
The lawsuit alleges that the city’s enforcement of the ordinance violates the First Amendment by imposing an invalid prior restraint on the individual’s protected expressive conduct. It also alleges that it restricts plaintiffs’ “protected expressive conduct.” Food Not Bombs Houston and Brandon Walsh, a member of the organization, were listed as plaintiffs.
“The City’s attempt to criminalize food sharing not only violates the First Amendment but also perpetuates cycles of poverty and hunger,” said Randy Hiroshige, staff attorney, Criminal Injustice Program at TCRP, in a press release. “Food Not Bombs has been an integral part of ensuring our most vulnerable neighbors have access to a warm meal, yet they are being cited for these acts of care under this cruel and unnecessary ordinance.”
The lawsuit follows a petition submitted Jan. 8 by the Texas Civil Rights Project and the organization urging Mayor John Whitmire and City Council to repeal and dismiss all pending citations under the ordinance.
City officials did not immediately respond to questions.
Former Mayor Annise Parker announced the creation of the charitable food ordinance in 2012 as part of an initiative to improve the city’s response to homelessness. The Charitable Food Ordinance states: “Charitable food services means providing food without charge, payment or other compensation to benefit those in need at an outdoor location not owned, leased or controlled by the individual or organization providing the food.”
At the time, Parker gave the organization permission to continue its food distribution at the Central Houston Public Library.
It wasn’t until early 2023 when former Mayor Sylvester Turner began enforcing the ordinance. The city had designated a municipal property at 61 Riesner St., outside of the central business district, as the only approved location where individuals are allowed to distribute food under the ordinance.
In 2023, the Houston Police Department began enforcing the ordinance under Turner’s orders, issuing citations to volunteers at the Food Not Bombs Houston events for feeding the hungry without the property owner’s consent.
The lawsuit alleges that the city violates the First Amendment by forcing Food Not Bombs to associate with the Houston Police Department in a location farther away from the community they have served for decades.
Walsh volunteers for Food Not Bombs and attends about three food sharing events a week. Although he has not received a ticket, he has seen other members be given citations and fears he could receive one, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that the organization has continued to receive citations, even after the city attorney’s office unsuccessfully tried to put a member on trial because it failed to find an unbiased jury. Members of the jury pool objected to a $500 fine given to the volunteer for distributing food to food insecure populations on Jan. 18, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The 92 citations from HPD could potentially cost more than $184,000 in fines.
“(Food Not Bombs) shares food with anyone, without restriction, to communicate its message and exhibit what a community based on mutual aid looks like,” the lawsuit states. “The Anti-Food Sharing Ordinance infringes on the group’s ability to communicate its message without risking citation or arrest for assembling and sharing food on public property.”
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