The non-profit group Neighbors Feeding Neighbors, a faith-based organization, has taken constitutional legal defenses as justification for its lack of permits. The organization, formerly known as Breakfast Brigade, serves the community by providing free meals to people in need.
In December 2024, NFN was threatened with arrest and citations by the Eugene Police Department for operating without a permit. NFN has continued to serve meals despite not having the permits to do so.
According to Marion Suitor Barnes, Public Affairs Manager with the City of Eugene, the permits NFN applied for were appealed and subsequently denied in September 2024. The permits would have permitted them to serve food in the southern part of Washington-Jefferson Park.
“There is some pretty decent legal precedent for the fact that serving the hungry as an expression of your faith is something supported by the First Amendment,” Board President for NFN, Lisa Levsen, said.
NFN’s primary defense lies in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which refers to the freedom of speech. NFN has also used Article I sections 2, 3 and 26 of the Oregon constitution, which relate to freedom of freedom of worship, religious opinion and to assemble in a peaceful manner for the common good.
NFN announced during its press conference on Jan. 28 that it would continue to serve meals at Washington Jefferson Park through the constitutional rights it claims and through the representation of attorney Matthew Watkins.
In a legal letter sent to city officials, including Mayor Kaarin Knudson, Watkins stated, “In performing its work, NFN and other members of the community assemble together in a peaceable manner to consult for their common good. NFN believes that by feeding the needy, its members are engaging in their natural right to worship the Almighty, according to the dictates of their own consciences.”
Watkins added, “If the city continues its current attempts to limit, restrict or prohibit NFN’s performance of its mission, the organization intends to use every legal tool at its disposal to seek relief from the city’s actions.”
According to Levsen, EPD has stationed “guardian trailers” in Washington Jefferson Park since December 2024 to survey the area where NFN serves its meals.
Melinda McLaughlin, EPD’s public information director, stated in an email that “guardian trailers” with cameras are placed when there are issues, neighborhood complaints, concerns or if the area is determined to need attention through data collection.
McLaughlin stated that EPD did not have any new information to share about future enforcement activity regarding NFN.
“I’m always nice to the guardians,” Levsen said. “Matt referenced the harassment of not only the police circling the blocks while we were doing our press conference, there were four police cars that circled the blocks filming us, as well as the guardian trailer filming us.”
Levsen said the day after Watkins acknowledged EPD’s presence, which she described as “troubling,” the guardian trailer was removed from the area and NFN hasn’t seen it since.
Levsen said NFN not having proper permits was due to miscommunications with city officials regarding NFN not having certificates of insurance, despite their attempts to obtain them. Levsen said she attempted to appeal the permit, but was denied in September 2024.
According to Levsen, the response from the city was to make NFN pay for a permit which would cost over $75 per day, which would amount to over $15,000 per year for the four days they serve food each week.
“We don’t raise that much money as a nonprofit. Maybe we can this year because we are fundraising, but we have never raised more than, I don’t know, $8,000 in a year,” Levsen said.
Watkins’ letter ended with a statement that NFN is “no longer willing to compromise its constitutional rights in order to placate the city.”
