A federal judge recently determined that Houston’s actions infringed the First Amendment by attempting to halt activists from handing out free meals outside a downtown library and by issuing more than 100 citations to participants.
U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas Andrew S. Hanen concluded that Houston’s enforcement of an ordinance that bans charitable food distributions in public spaces was unconstitutional as applied to the Houston chapter of Food Not Bombs (FNBH), a volunteer network that provides complimentary meals in many cities around the world.
This decision adds to a growing line of litigation between Food Not Bombs groups nationwide, who contend that feeding those in need is a form of expressive activity protected by the First Amendment, and city authorities who warn that distributing food without authorization can raise safety concerns, create liability issues, and generate litter.
“This ruling this week reinforces what we have believed from the start: feeding neighbors should not be criminalized,” said Randy Hiroshige, a staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, in a press statement. “In the face of the city’s harsh crackdown on charitable feeding, Food Not Bombs Houston kept showing up to share its message and meals, and today that perseverance was vindicated.”
The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of FNBH in 2024, a year after Houston police began issuing citations to FNBH members for violating a 2012 ordinance that bars providing free food to more than five people “in need” at outdoor sites without permission. The suit claimed that Houston’s anti–food sharing rule was unconstitutional both on its face and as applied to FNBH, effectively imposing an improper prior restraint on the activists’ First Amendment rights.
For more than ten years, FNBH activists operated in a downtown public park without incident—until 2023, when city officials pressed for their relocation to a city-approved parking lot designated for all homeless services. The group contended they possessed an unambiguous First Amendment right to distribute free food in public spaces, regardless of the city’s permission. Ultimately, Houston police issued 111 citations for alleged violations of the ordinance.
Yet the enforcement efforts did not proceed smoothly. One activist was acquitted, and several other cases were either dismissed or delayed because prosecutors struggled to assemble juries willing to fine people $500 for feeding the hungry.
Hanen’s ruling this week did not come as a surprise: he had previously issued a preliminary injunction in 2024 blocking Houston from enforcing the ordinance after finding that the FNBH was likely to prevail on its First Amendment claims.
The judge held that the city ordinance’s requirement to obtain permission to distribute food constituted an invalid content-neutral restriction as applied to FNBH. He did not rule on the facial challenge to the ordinance, explaining that circuit precedent required him to conclude his analysis once he determined the law was unconstitutional as applied.
Hanen ordered the FNBH and the City of Houston to submit a plan for a permanent injunction within 30 days that would allow the group to continue operating while minimizing litter and other public nuisances.
Hanen’s decision drew on earlier precedents suggesting that charitable activities can constitute political and religious expression. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held in 2018 that distributing food qualifies as “expressive conduct” protected by the First Amendment, a ruling prompted by a lawsuit filed by the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, chapter of Food Not Bombs.
Nevertheless, similar disputes continue to surface nationwide. In May, police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrested four Food Not Bombs activists who asserted a First Amendment right to feed others.
The Roswell, New Mexico, chapter of Food Not Bombs sued the city earlier this year, arguing that the city’s permit and insurance requirements violated the group’s constitutional rights. Roswell ultimately settled with the organization.
Reason has also reported on government efforts to suppress food charities in Tampa, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Atlanta; Newark, New Jersey; Las Vegas; San Antonio, Texas; Philadelphia; and Kansas City, Missouri. In Kansas City, health officials poured bleach on food intended for the homeless in 2018.
John Locke, a member of Food Not Bombs Houston, stated in a press release that the group’s work has always extended beyond simply sharing meals. “It’s a form of protest against a system that lets people go hungry while food and resources lie all around us,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to fight for the right to feed people, but we did, and we won. And we will keep showing up.”
The City of Houston did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
