Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Ban on mass outdoor food programs for the homeless begins June 1

A ban on mass outdoor feedings for homeless people in city parks, including open space along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, will take effect June 1. The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department filed a notice Monday with the city’s records commissioner of its intention to follow through with the ban.

Members of Occupy Philadelphia fed the homeless outside the Municipal Services Building, a practice the city will end next month.(Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer)
Members of Occupy Philadelphia fed the homeless outside the Municipal Services Building, a practice the city will end next month.(Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer)Read more
    by By Jennifer Lin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
    Published 

A ban on mass outdoor feedings for homeless people in city parks, including open space along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, will take effect June 1.

The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department filed a notice Monday with the city's records commissioner of its intention to follow through with the ban.

The move follows the opening of the new Barnes Foundation last week and coincides with significant investment by public and private donors in Parkway attractions.

The issue has been a source of contention between Mayor Nutter and groups that hand out food to people on the Parkway. In addition to the ban on using parkland for feedings, the city's Board of Health also has issued new guidelines and sanitation rules for people who distribute free meals.

Threatened for years, the ban on feedings was introduced on March 14. Parks and Recreation held a public meeting on the new rules on April 25. About 75 people attended, including 26 people who offered comment, mostly in protest.

Contact Jennifer Lin at 215-854-5659 or jlin@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @j_linq.