As a sophomore in high school, I spent a week over winter break volunteering at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in the Chelsea neighborhood of lower Manhattan. Everyday like clockwork, hundreds of people filed in to receive lunch. The most striking aspect of this experience was the physical diversity of the people in need. Many looked like the other smartly dressed professionals in the neighborhood, whose appearance would suggest they were in stable financial positions. I would have walked past most of them on the street without looking twice.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), in the past two years over 30 American cities have attempted to pass legislation limiting the capabilities of groups to distribute food to the homeless. Such legislation only further impedes solving the problem of homelessness. Without a universal and suitable program to end homelessness in America — which affects over 600,000 fellow citizens on any given day — food programs are essential to ensuring the nutritional stability and general survival of those facing such dire circumstances.
There are several ways in which cities limit or prevent food sharing. Some enact legislation that requires a permit for the distribution of food on public property. Others pass overly demanding food safety regulations. Pressure on organizations that distribute food to the homeless also comes from community groups who do not want the food distribution to attract homeless people to their area.
Perhaps the most frequently referenced rationale for this kind of legislation is that feeding the homeless entitles or enables them to remain homeless. Some supporters of this legislation believe preventing food-sharing programs from providing meals for the homeless will cause people to stop relying on soup kitchens and the like, and motivate them to confront their issues head on. But this logic is flawed; if there are a few “free-riders” so to speak, they certainly do not account for the vast majority of homeless in the United States.
Michael Stoops, of the NCH, spoke out against the legislation. “Homeless people are visible in downtown America. And cities think by cutting of the food source it will make the homeless go away. It doesn’t, of course.”
Chronic homelessness is a significant problem across America, including here in Charlottesville. According to NBC29, People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry (PACEM) has housed about 220 people every winter for the past few years. It is not uncommon to see homeless people on the Corner. We are faced with a similar situation as many other American cities: we do not have the infrastructure to support the homeless in our community. As Marbut points out, banning food sharing would make sense if every American city had comprehensive programs to help the homeless get back on their feet. In most cases, such programs do not exist.
The laws restricting food sharing reflect a common feature of American political culture: bias against the disadvantaged and the struggling. This is an issue that should be addressed on both the local and national level. One effort suggested by the National Homeless Coalition is to advocate homelessness be added to local and state anti-discrimination laws. The bottom line is that homeless people face a myriad of issues they must overcome. In addition, there have been federal cuts in supportive programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in recent years Nutritional care can provide a stable foundation for people to then have the energy, income, and time to attempt to assuage their circumstances.
As a child growing up in New York City, seeing a homeless person was a common occurrence. When I was little, I was told not to give money to the people huddled on street corner since I didn’t know how they would use it. Being able to contribute money or time to soup kitchens and the like is one of the only ways that the average member of society can be sure they are in some way providing assistance to the members of our society who are most in need. However, it is important to highlight that giving out food is not a solution to homelessness. The real need here is for more government funds, on the state and local level, to be allocated to the creation and maintenance of programs that will ameliorate this problem across American cities and towns.
Mary Russo is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. Her column runs Thursdays.
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