> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # City can’t curb feedings frenzy - URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-cant-curb-feedings-frenzy/ - Published: 2006-03-17T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T17:22:01.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless *Critics contend feedings ain’t no picnic* CITYWIDE — While lawyers wait for a panel of judges to decide the constitutionality of feeding the hungry in public parks, a law passed more than two years ago designed to curb public food lines has shown little effect. The law, passed by the Santa Monica City Council in 2002, requires groups of more than 150 people who gather in public places to obtain an event permit from City Hall and, if food is served, a health permit from Los Angeles County. A handful of Civil Rights activists sued City Hall in January of 2003, claiming the law treads on the First Amendment in a number of ways, and therefore, was unenforceable. The following year, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in City Hall’s favor and threw the case out of court. But Civil Rights activists from the National Lawyers Guild and the ACLU, including former Santa Monica City Attorney Robert Myers, appealed the decision. Arguments were made in early 2005 in front of three United States Court of Appeals judges, with both sides awaiting a ruling. Meanwhile, several groups from outside of Santa Monica continue their feeding programs for the homeless without city or health permits. That’s because City Hall only requires that a special event permit be acquired if the group will exceed 150 people, a number most providers stay below. And because of staffing shortages, county health inspectors have not routinely been checking for permits or monitoring food safety, officials said. “I don’t think any of our clients have permits,” said Carol Sobel, a lawyer who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The goal of the Santa Monica law was to reduce any health issues that may be occurring as a result of the lack of food inspection and to encourage food providers to bring their programs indoors at one of the city-funded social service providers. But so far, only two groups have taken their food programs indoors, with another planning to serve food at a social services facility, city officials said. The remaining groups, which city officials estimate to be about a half dozen, continue to feed the homeless in Palisades, Memorial and Reed parks, as well as in front of City Hall. They remain largely unchecked by city or county officials. “It didn’t have the dramatic impact I had wanted,” said City Councilman Richard Bloom, who voted in favor of the law in the fall of 2002\. “I certainly think providing food to people in need is a calling, but we want them to do it with services attached.” Paul Grymkowski, whose organization Helping Other People Eat (HOPE), serves about 100 to 150 people each Wednesday and Thursday at Palisades Park, said he doesn’t have a permit with either the city or the county. In the five years he’s been serving food in Santa Monica, Grym-kowski has been approached by a county health inspector once, who opted not to check the food because it appeared to be in compliance. Santa Monica Police park rangers and officers on bicycles regularly check the food lines to make sure the providers are complying with the 150-person portion of the law. “If there is a long line of people, they will do a count,” said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. “There have been no violations in the last three months.” Police also patrol the area to spot people with outstanding warrants or those who might be breaking local laws, like smoking in the park. “The park rangers are great,” Grymkowski said. “They keep the peace.” For Grymkowski, he assigns numbers to plates so he knows how many people he is serving. Having the recipients know what number they are in line also helps keep order so they aren’t jockeying to get food before someone else. “I consider (the plate) an invitation to my picnic,” he said. “If someone is drunk or smoking a joint, they aren’t invited and I tell them to leave.” Grymkowski said the number of people who come to the park to eat his food isn’t an issue. “If we have 152 people, then we have 152 people, but if we have a long line, we will break the line into two,” he said. “It’s not an issue of having 150 people, it’s an issue of getting people out of there quickly... we are there at 2:30 p.m. setting up and done serving and cleaned up by 4 p.m. “That’s probably why they are not enforcing it, we are not disrupting anything... there are no traffic or cleanliness issues.” While the law might not have had the effects some officials were hoping for, the number of food providers has indeed dwindled in the past two years. There used to be a list of at least 20 different charitable groups who would randomly show up in parks to hand out food to the hungry. At present, that number is at about seven, with a few handing out food at Ocean Park Community Center, a social service provider funded by City Hall, city officials said. The law has been effective in some regards. A report from the city’s staff to the City Council in 2002, before the law was passed, made the city’s intentions clear. “Presumably, enforcement will diminish the number of projects and the number of distributions by each project because, among other things, project participants will be unwilling or unable to comply with the state and county requirements,” the report says. Attorneys at City Hall have argued that officials deserve to know about large gatherings ahead of time so they could, among other things, prepare for changes in traffic and take safety precautions. Therefore, a city permit, which ranges in cost from $50 to $200, is necessary so city officials can prepare for a large group of people forming in a certain area. Sobel has argued that the law unfairly forces large groups to release City Hall from any liability and it impedes the constitutional right to quickly organize protests. She also has argued that the law targets a certain group of people because it doesn’t differentiate between someone who wants to share food with their family and friends in a public space and food providers like Grymkowski, who does it regularly and in an organized fashion. “I make it a private picnic and I invite people to come to my picnic,” he said. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a picnic.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/031706-01_01.jpg) (Photo: Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/031706-01_02.jpg) Food provider Paul Grymkowski places a sign in Palisades Park every Wednesday and Thursday indicating he is having a picnic for “family and friends,” most of whom are homeless. (Photo: Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/031706-01_03.jpg) Paul Grymkowski (far right) hands a plate of food to a man at Palisades Park. (Photo: Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 17, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)