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More Cities Are Making It Illegal To Hand Out Food To The Homeless

Anyone Feeding The Homeless Should Be A Crime

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Dragonfly

Dragonfly

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More Cities Are Making It Illegal To Hand Out Food To The Homeless : The Salt : NPR

According to a report released Monday by the National Coalition for the Homeless, 21 cities have passed measures aimed at restricting the people who feed the homeless since January 2013. In that same time, similar legislation was introduced in more than 10 cities. Combined, these measures represent a 47 percent increase in the number of cities that have passed or introduced legislation to restrict food sharing since the coalition last counted in 2010.
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:shock:

What???

Cities like Fort Lauderdale aren't throwing people in jail for feeding the homeless or being homeless. But often, they're creating more ways to impose fines.
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Helping people eat could be a crime??? With Fines?

Does this make sense?
 
If you want the homeless to move someplace else, it does.


Democracy. Two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
 
In other news, the national parks have outlawed feeding bears, as it makes them dependent on human food and unable to fend for themselves.
 
If I decided to give someone food or cash, I would ignore this law.
 
I guess this is why I tend to be skeptical that large and sweeping welfare systems are necessary. I understand the need for a limited social safety net, but if we would just stop passing Grade A bull**** laws like the one in the OP, we probably wouldn't have nearly as many people starving on the streets as we do. I cannot comprehend how people can think helping the needy should be a crime.
 
Dittohead not! said:
In other news, the national parks have outlawed feeding bears, as it makes them dependent on human food and unable to fend for themselves.
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Small problem: Humans are dependent on human food whether or not you feed them.
 
TeleKat said:
Small problem: Humans are dependent on human food whether or not you feed them.
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Yes, and generally able to fend for themselves.

Bears, on the other hand, aren't able to provide human food for themselves.
 
The term human food sounds so wrong. :lol:
 
Dittohead not! said:
Yes, and generally able to fend for themselves.
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I may be misunderstanding where you are coming from, so help me clarify please. Are you arguing that we shouldn't help the homeless because that would make them "dependent" on us?
 
jamesrage said:
Lets all stand out in front of your home and children's schools and set up a soup kitchen to feed the homeless and see how you feel about this subject in a year from now.
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So the whole "not in my backyard" thing is rearing it's ugly head here?
 
Dragonfly said:
So the whole "not in my backyard" thing is rearing it's ugly head here?
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So you wouldn't mind it if someone set up a soup kitchen in front of your house,the place you worked at or children's schools?
 
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Henrin said:
The term human food sounds so wrong. :lol:
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Perhaps "food for humans" would be a better term....

..although, some of the Alaska grizzlies and polar bears have developed a taste for human food of quite another sort.
 
TeleKat said:
I may be misunderstanding where you are coming from, so help me clarify please. Are you arguing that we shouldn't help the homeless because that would make them "dependent" on us?
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Feeding the homeless makes us feel good, but what does it really do for the homeless? Give a man a fish.....
 
I can agree in some ways. Would you want dozens or even hundreds of homeless people hanging out in front of your home or business? I don't think this targets one person handing another a sandwich, but those mobile units that set up downtown and draw large crowds.

The latest city to crack down is Fort Lauderdale, Fla. According to the Sun Sentinel, the city's commissioners passed a measure early Wednesday that will require feeding sites to be more than 500 feet away from each other, with only one allowed per city block. They'll also have to be at least 500 feet from residential properties.
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One location per block and not near residential areas sounds fair. Can people not walk a block to get free food?

The measures that restrict food distribution tend to take one of two forms: new rules on the use of public property and new food-safety regulations. Salt Lake City, for example, now requires that anyone preparing and serving food to the homeless get a food handler's permit.
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If you are preparing food for a mass of people this is a good idea to help educate those handling food on safe food prep. This may prevent a food poisoning issue that could possibly send hundreds to the ER with no means to pay for those services.

Then there is the whole issue of what goes in must come out. Dozens gathered in front of your home or business are going to be doing their business in the area.
 
Dragonfly said:
More Cities Are Making It Illegal To Hand Out Food To The Homeless : The Salt : NPR



:shock:

What???



Helping people eat could be a crime??? With Fines?

Does this make sense?
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From your link:

it's community groups practicing "not in my backyard" politics, or NIMBYism,

I never knew Nimby was an -ism.

But to the article, it was not quite as dramatic as I thought it would be. I fully expected to read that cops were going to be arresting or ticketing people who hand over a Big Mac to a homeless person. It looks like the rules are clamping down on mostly the handling of the food as well as the locations of food pantries and the like. Or did I read it wrong? I understand retailers and residents not wanting homeless people to congregate outside of their buildings so I get the concept of reigning in the locations.
 
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wolfsgirl said:
I can agree in some ways. Would you want dozens or even hundreds of homeless people hanging out in front of your home or business? I don't think this targets one person handing another a sandwich, but those mobile units that set up downtown and draw large crowds.



One location per block and not near residential areas sounds fair. Can people not walk a block to get free food?



If you are preparing food for a mass of people this is a good idea to help educate those handling food on safe food prep. This may prevent a food poisoning issue that could possibly send hundreds to the ER with no means to pay for those services.

Then there is the whole issue of what goes in must come out. Dozens gathered in front of your home or business are going to be doing their business in the area.
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Okay, it seems that you read it and took it just as I did. Our posts landed within a minute of each other. I agree with everything you said here.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
This is one of those victimless crimes that makes absolutely no sense. I am opposed to all victimless crimes. Feeding the homeless is an act of compassion for one's fellow human beings and not a criminal act. Absolute nonsense.
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It is not a victimless crime if these people are drawn to your neighborhood or business because someone decided to set up a soup kitchen right near those places and as a result crime and property damage go up or it becomes unsafe for your child to play outside or in a park. A lot of these people not homeless because they fallen on hard times and are trying to get back on their feet. Many of these people are alcoholics, drug addicts and or have mental problems.
 
Dittohead not! said:
In other news, the national parks have outlawed feeding bears, as it makes them dependent on human food and unable to fend for themselves.
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We could feed our homeless to the bears and solve both problems, right?
 
Dragonfly said:
More Cities Are Making It Illegal To Hand Out Food To The Homeless : The Salt : NPR



:shock:

What???



Helping people eat could be a crime??? With Fines?

Does this make sense?
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IIRC, this all started when someone poisoned some homeless people by handing out tainted food. I remember hearing this when the Salvation Army told me that we would have to bring restaurant prepared food to feed people on our scheduled dates to do so. We could no longer cook the food ourselves, it had to come from a restaurant, which costs us a hell of a lot more money to do (not to mention that the food isn't as good). We used to make hash brown casserole, sweet ham, green beans, salad, fresh baked breads and a lot of different desserts that we cooked and prepared ourselves. We can no longer do that. We can't even brew the sweet tea ourselves, it has to be brought in contained in a sealed container that we bought at a store.

Does it make sense to ban food distribution to homeless people? No.
 
jamesrage said:
It is not a victimless crime if these people are drawn to your neighborhood or business because someone decided to set up a soup kitchen right near those places and as a result crime and property damage go up or it becomes unsafe for your child to play outside or in a park. A lot of these people not homeless because they fallen on hard times and are trying to get back on their feet. Many of these people are alcoholics, drug addicts and or have mental problems.
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Then you can try, convict and lock up the trouble makers. Locking people in cages for showing compassion to their fellow man is disgustingly atrocious.
 
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