Dayton charity sues City over ordinance that prevents aid to the homeless

Dayton, OH; November 19, 2024: Nourish Our Neighbors, a Dayton-based charity represented by Pacific Legal Foundation, has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Dayton challenging a city ordinance that unconstitutionally bans the public distribution of food without a permit.  

Nourish Our Neighbors offers a wide range of services, including haircuts, education, housing, and food assistance. At its core, however, is its food program, which is a crucial community resource considered illegal by the City. Volunteers serve nearly 150 people per month, collect trash before and after all food service, and leave the area cleaner than they found it. 

“Nourish Our Neighbors’ volunteers are acting on their belief that society and the government have failed the homeless,” said Anastasia Boden, a senior attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “Dayton can’t force individuals who simply want to help the hungry to get an onerous, expensive, and needless permit.” 

Dayton’s permit requirement isn’t just unnecessary; it’s also unconstitutional. The ordinance unjustly restricts expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, unfairly discriminates among similar activities, and violates the fundamental right to engage in charitable acts. 

Now, Nourish Our Neighbors is fighting back with a federal lawsuit challenging the City’s unlawful restrictions on charity. 

The case is Nourish Our Neighbors v. City of Dayton, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.