It's just before 3 p.m. on a Saturday, and it's still hot.

It's the kind of heat that isn't typical for Amarillo - humid. And yet, the mugginess in the air doesn't keep a small group of locals from heading to Ellwood Park to feed homeless. As Sean Fuller and his wife exit their car, the earthy aroma of spices pour out and trail behind them as they carry a pot filled with squash soup to a nearby bench. Also in tow, a basket of fluffy, homemade zucchini muffins and fried wonton ragoons. The vegetarian meal is placed on a table covered by a white cloth with the words "Food Not Bombs" written across it.

"I've always wanted to do this," Fuller said as he ushers men and women over to the table.

This is feeding the homeless.

But not everyone thinks it's a good idea.

A committee formed by city council to deal with gaps in homeless services might keep Fuller - and those like him - from being able to feed homeless in public spaces. But it also might keep a family from cooking up its own food at junior's birthday party in the park - or at least stopping them from feeding their guests. And it most-likely would keep you from sharing a piece of mama's amazing apple pie with five or more friends outside the comfort of your home.

The recommendations, which largely were penned by business owner Susan Rogers and cosigned by those who make a living helping homeless, such as representatives from Faith City Ministry and the Salvation Army, is causing a stir in the community, leaving many questioning the motives behind the proposed ban.

Other than what was written in the report, which questioned the safety of feeding someone food prepared at home, efforts to get a clear understanding of the proposed ban were thwarted by the very people suggesting it. Many declined to comment. Those who attended the committee's public meetings said their questions about the proposed ordinance were swatted away like pesky mosquitos.

"When we asked questions, they said, 'We don't have that yet, just vote,'" Fuller said.

A request by Amarillo Globe-News for all meeting minutes was not met by Monday.

Juliana Walker, Housing First program coordinator with the Amarillo Veterans Health Care System and chair of the solutions subcommittee, said she was unable to comment because the report is not final.

Voting board member Raymond Gonzales, who also is the outreach director for Faith City Ministries, wouldn't confirm if he supported a feeding ban, and instead said, "If you look at Faith City Mission, we provide over 10,000 meals a month to those who want to eat."

For many of the homeless who sit down with Food Not Bombs on Saturday afternoons for a home-cooked meal, eating at places such as Faith City Mission isn't possible - either because they have been banned or because they don't want to make the 26-minute walk from the park.

"Sometimes this is the only thing we eat," one of the homeless men said, calling it "life-saving."

Kim Pickens, president of The Humility Project, questioned why homeless people should have to jump through hoops to receive basics, like food.

"We spend a lot of energy feeling as if homeless people need to accommodate our organizations or validate our feelings," Pickens said. "If I know you can feed me, but your shelter is full ... I'll stay closer to my campsite to eat."

Pickens said ordinances that prohibit feeding homeless are written from a place of fear.

"A lot of people are afraid of the homeless, as if they are not our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers," she said. "There are people who say they are concerned with issues of safety or economic development, but there is rarely any solution offered as a part of these ordinances. In the several years I participated in a food share in Houston, I never once knew anyone who became ill from something prepared by a volunteer."

How some councilmen have reacted to the proposal suggests it might not succeed.

"I don't think it is our job to be onerous," Councilman Mark Nair Said. "I don't want to stand in the way of someone who has a good heart and wants to serve food."

Councilman Elisha Demerson said he would have a serious problem with such an ordinance.

"I am opposed to government overreach, and I think in this instance, based off what I have seen, if it was presented to council, I would question it in the light of government overreach," he said. "As a pastor at a community church that does outreach, I would have some significant problems with this."

While some ordinances have been passed in the name of public safety, street feeders and their legal advocates view it as an effort to keep the homeless population out of sight. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, between 2013 and 2015 at least 21 cities created some sort of restriction on homeless. In Dallas, after a six-year fight, a U.S. district judge found the city's food sharing restriction ordinance was in violation of the Texas Religion Freedom Restoration Act. The city revised its regulations, making it easier to feed and care for those living on Dallas streets.

City Attorney Mick McKamie said while there are many issues he would have to look at, religious rights wouldn't be one. He is not worried about religious violations because the ordinance would be neutral and wouldn't burden just religious people, he said.

Amarillo Civil Rights and Criminal Defense Attorney Ryan Brown said the state's law is pretty broad. Whether or not a local feeding ordinance infringes religious rights will largely depend on how it's written.

An ordinance to keep homeless people safe is pretty easy to make, he said.

"It is whether the policy really does that is what is debatable," Brown said. "I don't see what problem it really solves. It is not going to make people stop being homeless."

DV.load("https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2990358-Solutions-Subcommittee-Recommendations-5-9-16.js", { width: 590, height: 800, sidebar: false, text: false, container: "#DV-viewer-2990358-Solutions-Subcommittee-Recommendations-5-9-16" }); Solutions-Subcommittee-Recommendations-5-9-16 (PDF)

Solutions-Subcommittee-Recommendations-5-9-16 (Text)