Free to feed: helping the homeless.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Brief article

A PAIR of religious groups in Dallas won a legal victory in March against city regulations that interfered with their ability to feed the homeless. U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis ruled that the city's Food Establishment Ordinance violates a Texas law protecting religious freedom.

The ordinance requires programs aimed at feeding the homeless to meet a long list of demands, including restrooms, washing facilities, city approval of locations, and supervision by someone who has completed a food safety training course. One of the plaintiffs, Big Heart Ministry, reports that at one point 13 police cars and a police van showed up to a public plaza to close down Big Heart's operation for violating the law. Don Hart, who has been feeding the homeless for 30 years, says he spent "hundreds of thousands" trying to comply with the city's demands.

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Under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, any legal burden on the practice of...