City, aid groups debate permitting process for feeding unhoused

The City of Tucson is revisiting a policy that requires volunteers to apply for permits to distribute food to people in city parks.

Ordinance 21-4 requires anyone distributing food to 10 or more people to apply for a free Food and Beverage Distribution Permit from the Parks and Recreation department, which requires a certification from the Pima County Health Department.

In a community meeting on Thursday, activists and city representatives suggested making permits permanent, creating a trusted distributor list, and expanding partnerships between the city and aid groups.

“My group was mostly concerned about trying to make it easier to distribute food to folks that need it,” said community member Adrianna Brush. “One of the ideas we had was a system for groups to apply for a permit once, and then they are kind of authorized to do distribution as needed, or to have access to some sort of instant permit system.”

Gabriela Barillas, Chief of Staff for Ward 1 councilmember Lane Santa Cruz, said she thinks the most immediate actions could be ensuring bathrooms are open at all times in approved locations, and extending the amount of time a permit is valid, instead of having to renew permits every few weeks.

Barillas said Ward 1 is also interested in establishing more official partnerships with aid groups.

“I really do believe that they are doing work that sometimes the city city doesn't have capacity to do,” she said. “City departments have lists of approved vendors, like landscape companies or engineers or PR firms that are in the system and city staff can call on for projects. So I think that would be really neat to establish a list of these mutual aid and community based organizations that we can tap into.”

Background

In 2022, the city updated the ordinance to eliminate permit eligibility for parks that are within 1.5 miles of another facility that serves meals.

Whether the city will take action to update the 1.5 mile regulation still remains unclear, although reevaluating location restrictions was specifically mentioned at a November city council meeting. Many city council members also acknowledged the permitting process was disregarded entirely, and unevenly enforced.

The city currently coordinates with Tucson Police and Housing and Community Development to identify homeless “hotspots,” and updates that list twice a year, according to a city memo from March 2022.

Officials said the 1.5 mile change was “to ensure these permits do not overburden any specific park, and to help ensure the best and most efficient distribution of resources,” the memo reads.

In an interview with AZPM last year, Greg Jackson said most food distribution was happening in Santa Rita Park and Armory Park.

“We were certainly getting complaints about trash being left around, food being left in the park,” he said. “If we want food to be going out to people who need it, why don't we look at areas where there are not congregate meals available and try to help those folks that don't really have easy access to meals.”

Since the permit update in 2022, only four parks are technically eligible for a permit; Mission Manor, Mansfield Park, Todd Harris Sportsplex, and Reid Park.

Parks and Recreation Director Lara Hamwey said neighborhood parks are not considered for food distribution because they do not have bathrooms.

According to the city’s 2016 Park Master Plan, neighborhood parks are below 16 acres and serve populations living in a .5 mile radius. With 64 total neighborhood parks, they are the most common classification out of the city’s total 127 parks, according to the report.

The last community dialogue is Saturday, March 8 at 9 a.m. at the Donna Liggins Center.

Hamwey said the information collected in the dialogue would be delivered to the mayor and council, and the city manager’s office.

Barillas said further action from the city council can be expected in one to two months.