Peter Francisco Park behind Penn Station in Newark has long been the gathering place for people to feed the homeless.

That’s about to change.

The city is working on a plan to have three churches -- St. James AME Church, St. John’s Roman Catholic Church and St. Matthews Methodist Church -- to be drop-off points for organizations, churches and good Samaritan individuals to bring food.

“We continue to put together a comprehensive program to keep our homeless population fed, sheltered and safe,” said Mark Wade, the Newark Health Services director.

He said the city will have its 10th meeting Thursday in the East ward with 15 independent groups who come to Penn Station and Peter Francisco Park to feed the homeless population, which is estimated to be about 2,000. The purpose of that meeting is to steer those groups to the three churches, which already have food programs, Wade said.

Three years ago, East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador and then council member Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins had suggested that the city should stop allowing good hearted people to feed the homeless in public without permission.

In 1996, an ordinance was approved that said anyone distributing food, candy, chewing gum had to get a permit for $5 from the city’s health department.

Amador said that ordinance, ironically, was only being required of food vendors, street festivals and special events where food was served. The same guideline was not applied to churches, agencies or individuals who decided to feed the homeless.

“What’s being done now to move the homeless population from public places. We are entering into agreements with the churches to do the feeding exclusively," Amador said.

“It’s better to do it that way, not only for the public itself but also for the dignity of homeless," Amador said.

If groups are seen giving out food, Amador said police officers will inform them to take the food to the churches that have an agreement with the city.

Wade said the city will set portable toilets in those locations and have regular patrols by Newark police and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. Newark’s department of public works also will pick up trash at these locations.

Wade said more than three-quarters of the homeless are sheltered in city facilities at night. The other “400 or so” are those “we have a tough time to convince to come into the shelters," but the city is aggressive in trying to get them off the streets, he said.

Amador had been getting complaints about the homeless population in the Penn Station area while Chaneyfield Jenkins was concerned that the city could be liable if someone got sick. When this issue surfaced three years ago, many of the people taking the food didn’t mind eating sandwiches or meals from organizations.

They said the quality of the food was fine and people serving hot meals and sandwiches were sincere and cared.

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Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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