LOCAL GROUPS TO SHARE FOOD IN LAKE EOLA PARK THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING

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Member groups of S.T.O.P.--Stop the Ordinance Partnership-- have announced they will hold a large group food sharing at 5 p.m., on Fri., Nov. 24 (the day after Thanksgiving) at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando. The groups will serve food in the park's picnic area at the corner of Osceola Ave. and Central Blvd.

Organizations participating will include Orlando Food Not Bombs, Orlando CodePink Women for Peace, the First Vagabonds Church of God, and other local churches and grassroots groups. These organizations say that, by not obtaining the City of Orlando's permission for their event, they will be defying its "large group feedings" ordinance. That measure, passed in July, requires a paid permit to share food in more than three dozen downtown parks if the sharing or "large group feeding" attracts or is likely to attract more than 25 people, including servers or distributors. Any one organization, group or person is allowed only two one-time permits per park per twelve-month period, which effectively banned groups that had been sharing food weekly in downtown parks from continuing their activities at those sites. The groups say that besides sharing food with hungry individuals, they hope to point out what they say is the City's violation of the constititutional rights --free speech, free assembly, and freedom of religion-- of groups that aid the homeless.

Groups in the S.T.O.P. coalition and others say the ordinance is inhumane, unconstitutional and not an effective solution to the problems of homelessness in Orlando and Central Florida. They say it "criminalizes" homeless individuals based on their socio-economic status and highlights what they say is the failure of local public officials and civic leaders to address what they see as the root causes of homelessness--an indequate number of shelter beds for Central Florida's homeless population, low-wage jobs and a lack of affordable housing.

When the ordinance was enacted, the City designated an alternative feeding location at Sylvia Lane, in the Lake Lucerne neighborhood. Homeless advocates say that site, a parking lot surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire, is inadequate and unacceptable for several reasons. It lacks bathrooms with running water, and instead has portable toilets, which poses a health hazard when serving and consuming food, homeless advocates say. The site also lacks lights, which according to the homeless advocates, means they can't share food at night. They also point to eight incidents this year in which homeless men in the Sylvia Lane area were beaten by bands of teen-agers, including one, 54-year-old August Felix, who subsequently died of his injuries. Recently, the City has gotten many complaints from Lake Lucerne residents about the presence of homeless individuals in their area.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in October against the City over the "large group feedings" ordinance. The lawsuit alleges violation of civil liberties guaranteed by the Florida and U.S. Constitutions, and violation of Florida's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Orlando Food Not Bombs, The First Vagabonds Church of God, and individual members of those groups. S.T.O.P. says that its attempts, prior to the lawsuit, to initiate dialogue with City officials over the ordinance and solutions to problems of homelessness in Orlando were unsuccessful.

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