Food Not Bombs volunteer accused of feeding homeless people Wednesday night in downtown Houston

A volunteer from an organization that feeds the homeless outside a downtown Houston library on McKinney Street said they would continue to distribute food despite the city’s call.

On Wednesday, police indicted Benjamin Franklin Kraft-Rendon, a Food Not Bombs volunteer, for violating city rules. Charity Feeding Ordinance.

City of Houston sent out notification Public feedings outside of the downtown library near City Hall are banned this week and must instead be held at 61 Risner Street, west of downtown.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said during his City address he wanted to restore the downtown central library and make it more family-oriented, where many homeless people usually congregate.

Food Not Bombs, an organization that has been feeding the homeless there for almost two decades, disagrees with the rule and continued handing out food this week.

“Honestly, I was surprised, this ruling has been on the books for over 10 years, and to my knowledge, this is the first time they actually cite someone for it,” said Kraft-Rendon, who has been with the organization since start. 2000s.

Craft-Rendon said officers were already at the scene when they showed up Wednesday night and handed them a copy of the city’s food ordinance. The organization’s volunteers said they don’t understand why the city is now complying with the ordinance passed by former Houston mayor Ennise Parker in 2012.

“I’m really not sure,” they said. “Mayor Parker ended up backing down and maybe Mayor Turner wants to end it, or maybe they’re planning some new downtown development.”

Nick Cooper has been with the organization since the late 90s. He said that it was not a crime to feed the needy.

“Finally, after 11 years, they actually enacted their law, but it is unconstitutional,” he said. “This law will not work, it was written by people who basically didn’t know what they were doing.”

He said instead of Mayor Turner telling the organization to move to a city-recommended location or threatening them with tickets, he could work with the group if they share the same mission of helping the homeless.

“I think he’s a real loser as a politician because he never did,” Cooper said. “He met with us, but instead of asking, hey, you know, you guys help, what do you need, how can we solve this, can you go to the nearest park or something like that — he just threatens us with the cops and tells us we need to move to the HPD parking lot, which is not the best option for us.”

Volunteers said there were concerns that the quotes might distract some volunteers from sharing food, but for Craft-Rendon, it’s a risk they’re willing to take.

“Some people won’t be able to share food because they’re not in a situation where they’re willing or unable to take that kind of risk,” Kraft-Rendon said. “Obviously I wouldn’t want to pay this fine and I plan to fight it, but the city will make its decisions and I will make mine.”

The organization said they were previously located in a different area near the library, which is now fenced off, and they do not feel comfortable moving to what they say is the HPD parking lot.

“We’ve had people get naughty and have mental health issues, and that’s a terrible story,” Kraft-Rendon said. “Police officers are not trained to deal with any of these problems, and there is no reason to trust them to solve this problem.”

Randy Kallinen, a civil rights attorney, said the ruling went against the group’s First Amendment rights.

“Houston’s ruling against food sharing is unconstitutional,” he said. “Food instead of bombs in Florida has been ruled freedom of speech by a very conservative United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and if the Supreme Court can decide that refusing to give wedding cake to a gay couple is freedom of religion then, of course, feeding the hungry and the poor too” .

Craft-Rendon said that while they were given a quote, they will be handing out food again outside the downtown library on Friday. Kraft Rendon will have to appear before the municipal courts this month, but they are going to file a motion to dismiss the fine, Kallinen said. The fine can range from $40 to $2,000.