After a regularly occurring meal-sharing event in a Fort Collins park was shut down earlier this month for operating without a permit, Food Not Bombs organizers acted in a Newtonian way: with a joint rally and picnic that drew three times the original crowd.

About 75 people gathered at Library Park on Sunday for a show of solidarity and for free food passed out by Food Not Bombs. They unfurled a banner declaring "Fight the man; Help each other," and participants briefly shouted rallying chants over a megaphone.

A week prior, on Feb. 3, Food Not Bombs had about two dozen people show up to their regular food sharing picnic, mostly those experiencing homelessness. They had been distributing food at Library Park for about two years without issue. But on that day, Fort Collins police showed up and threatened citations for the group, which was hosting an event without a permit.

"This came as a shock to all of us because who would think you need a permit to give out free food in a public space?" said Haley Dallas, a member of Food Not Bombs.

The Fort Collins chapter follows the philosophy of the loose national collective: Collect donated food and give it out to the community. It's as much charity as it is a political statement that there's more than enough food to go around, if it's distributed properly, and people have the right to eat, regardless of socio-economic status.

"We believe we have the right to give out free food, and healthy, nutritious meals are a right, not a privilege, for everybody," Dallas said.

When police showed up Feb. 3, Dallas said organizers were instructed to shut down the picnic or face citations. Volunteers handed out what they could, but in their haste to pack up, some of the food ended up cross-contaminated or otherwise couldn't be salvaged, she said.

They never sought a permit, partly because of their philosophy that there should be no restrictions on neighbors feeding neighbors, partly due to concerns of cost, and partly because other chapters have fallen into "the permit trap" where disapproving local officials ultimately used red tape associated with permits to shut down the event, Dallas said.

On Feb. 3, Old Town Library staff members had been hearing complaints about smoking, rooms being filled with people eating, and high demand on restrooms, Poudre Library District Communications Manager Paula Watson-Lakamp said.

Those concerns made their way to the city park's department, Senior Manager of Parks Steve Lukowski said.

The events were "low key," and Food Not Bombs members had been cleaning up well enough after themselves that rangers hadn't noticed signs of the weekly event, he said.

"It was flying under our radar," Lukowski said. "I didn't know it was going on until we got a complaint from library management. They asked us to see if they had a permit and talk to them about not overloading the facility with all their patrons."

Lukowski said they ask for a permit of any large group, from family reunions to picnics. City regulations require a parks event purpose for "commercial use of the park with 15-plus attendees and/or use of the park more than once per week/month."

"It has nothing to do with their philosophies," he said. "It's rules and regulations we ask of everyone."

The permit is a park management tool, he said, and could even lead to park staff helping with setup of tables, he said. Because the event is noncommercial, the permit wouldn't cost anything, Lukowski said, though they'd require a port-a-potty to mitigate crowding at library restrooms. He acknowledged it might be tough for a charity to find money for one and suggested reaching out to local businesses to ask for one to be donated.

Park rangers didn't make themselves known at Sunday's rally. Lukowski said park services tries to stay out of protests and rallies. They left it to Fort Collins Police Services, which likewise didn't make its presence known. FCPS spokesperson Kate Kimble deferred to the city parks department for comment.

Pamela Disney, who identified herself as a homeless Fort Collins resident, showed up Sunday to support the rally. She and her husband had been able to buy fast food for lunch that day but hadn't been able to the week before. They were at the library, researching what she could eat without aggravating her Crohn's disease, when the picnic was shut down, she said.

The couple has been without a home for about a month, she said, but "we're getting by. We're surviving." Weekends can be particularly tough to find charitable food services, she said, making Food Not Bombs all the more valuable. She appreciated that so many people turned out to support the program.

"It does create an atmosphere of solidarity, because we don't have a voice," Disney said. "Our voice is taken away when you're in these circumstances."

Dallas likewise appreciated the support and that a cross-section of the Fort Collins community that showed up.

"It's awesome, and it's so amazing to see people who are more fortunate show up and show support," Dallas said. "... We can't fight for homeless rights if people with homes don't show up."

"My biggest fear is next week. It's going to be Food Not Bombs and just Food Not Bombs," she said. "The media won't be here and the community won't be here supporting us in person, and we'll be more vulnerable."

Lukowski wrote in an email that park services will check on the park this Sunday, and if Food Not Bombs doesn't have a permit, they'll likely be issued one more warning and an order to comply with any other city ordinances they witness being broken. He didn't rule out requesting police assistance if there's no compliance. Because Food Not Bombs doesn't have a leadership structure, he wasn't sure how a citation for not having a permit may be issued.

"No one in the group will take responsibility as a point or organizer," Lukowski wrote in. "Legally, I don’t know if we can issue to someone serving the food. Participants or people taking the food will not be cited, but if they are breaking other laws or city code, (that) could possibly be addressed."