New Article: Sydney Rosenblum, Homeless and Hungry: Demanding the Right to Share Food, 46 Fordham Urb. L.J. 1004 (2019). Abstract below:
There is an alarming trend in cities in the United States to pass
ordinances that criminalize homelessness. These ordinances outlaw
typical acts that a homeless person must engage in to survive. In
recent years, many cities have employed a new tactic – enacting food
sharing ordinances. Food sharing ordinances target both homeless
persons and organizations that attempt to share food with them.
These food sharing ordinances discourage people from sharing food
with homeless persons by requiring many steps before being able to
legally do so. This increases the number of people who are hungry,
leaving many in even more need than before.
Drawing from recent litigation in the Eleventh Circuit’s case of
Fort Lauderdale Food Not Bombs v. City of Fort Lauderdale, this
Note examines potential arguments for constitutional protections
supporting the homeless population’s right to food and the providers’
right to share food. This Note urges courts to utilize the whole-text
approach to constitutional interpretation to protect the homeless.
Doing so is legally sound and safeguards the homeless from a policy
perspective. Further, this Note discusses how the United States’
participation in certain international agreements also lends support to
such protection.
Poverty Law 