Every Thursday evening, we show up at a Phoenix park to do something simple: feed people who are hungry.

Through St. Herman’s Table, an outreach ministry of our Church, we serve meals to people experiencing homelessness. For many of them, it’s more than just food. It’s a chance to be seen, to be known, and to have some sense of normal human connection.

The City of Phoenix is now considering an ordinance that would make this much harder.

The proposal would require permits to distribute food in public parks, limit those permits to just two per park each month, and add requirements that small volunteer groups like ours likely can’t meet. It also gives broad discretion to the Parks Department to approve or deny permits, without clearly defined standards.

At the end of the day, that means what we’re doing right now could become illegal without government permission.

This isn’t just about permits. It’s about whether people can respond to someone in need without being blocked by unnecessary rules.

For many of us, feeding the hungry is not optional. It’s part of our faith and part of our responsibility to our community. A system that limits when this can happen, makes approval uncertain, and places an undue burden on small, volunteer-led efforts doesn’t solve anything.

The need isn’t going away. People will still be hungry. This ordinance doesn’t fix the problem. It just makes it harder for people to help.

We all want our parks to be clean and safe. That matters. But those issues can be addressed directly by enforcing existing rules around trash and safety. We don’t need to restrict acts of charity to do that.

Phoenix should be a city where people are encouraged to help their neighbors, not one where they need permission to do it.

The Phoenix City Council is expected to vote on this ordinance on May 6th. There is still time to speak up.

Please sign this petition and ask the City of Phoenix to reject this ordinance.