A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the city of Houston violated the First Amendment when it tried to stop activists from giving away free food outside a downtown library and issued more than 100 tickets to them.
U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas Andrew S. Hanen found that Houston’s enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting charitable food giveaways in public was unconstitutional as applied to the Houston chapter of Food Not Bombs (FNBH), a volunteer group that distributes free food in cities worldwide.
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal battles between Food Not Bombs chapters across the country—who argue that feeding the needy is expressive conduct under the First Amendment—and city officials, who say that unpermitted food distribution creates safety, liability, and litter problems.
“This week’s ruling confirms what we have known all along: feeding our neighbors should not be a crime,” Randy Hiroshige, a staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a press release. “In the face of the City’s cruel crackdown on charitable feeding, Food Not Bombs Houston had the courage to continue sharing its message and sharing meals, and we are proud to see that courage vindicated today.”
The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of the FNBH in 2024, a year after Houston police started issuing citations to FNBH members for violating a 2012 ordinance that outlaws providing free food to more than five people “in need” at outdoor locations without permission. The suit argued that Houston’s anti–food sharing ordinance was unconstitutional both on its face and as applied to the FNBH by imposing an invalid prior restraint on the activists’ First Amendment rights.
FNBH activists had operated at a downtown public park for more than a decade without incident—until 2023, when Houston officials wanted the FNBH to move to a city-approved parking lot for all homeless services. The activists insisted they had a First Amendment right to give out free food in public, with or without the city’s permission. Houston police ultimately issued 111 citations for violating the ordinance.
