SAN JOSE — Kim Rennels planned to skip another meal on Sunday, but the 54-year-old homeless woman lucked out when she visited St. James Park.

The San Jose chapter of Food Not Bombs laid out a spread of free vegan food that day, as one by one the hungry stopped by to fill their stomachs with rice, summer vegetable stew, lettuce wraps and bread pudding.

Rennels said she felt better after eating, but hunger isn’t her only struggle. After landing in jail and battling with drug and alcohol use since she was a child, she’s trying to get clean.

“You grow accustomed to it after a while,” she said. “It’s like someone just takes your hand and makes you go with it whether you want to go or not.”

Groups like Food Not Bombs say feeding the homeless in public parks is a gift of compassion, but San Jose city officials and some nonprofits want the practice to stop because of health and safety concerns. As the city tries to revitalize St. James Park, some also argue that the feedings contribute to a pileup of trash in the area and dissuade the homeless from getting services they need.

Activists, though, view plans to crack down on mass feedings as an effort to drive the homeless out of public spaces. They don’t plan to stop feeding the homeless at parks anytime soon.

“What I think is important to realize is that the homeless are just like other middle-class people like everybody else. They enjoy the same things. They have the same desires, the same interests. It’s just that we have a failing economy and people are being forced onto the streets,” said Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs.

City officials notified homeless advocates and church groups in June that they planned to start enforcing a city ordinance that bars the distribution of unpermitted food in park spaces.

But after meeting with churches and nonprofits, city spokeswoman Cheryl Wessling said officials have not decided yet when enforcement would begin. Advocacy groups expected the city to start issuing citations this month.

“Clearly, the goals of feeding those in need and keeping the park safe and clean for all people do not have to be mutually exclusive. Both can be accomplished through a collaborative spirit,” she said.

There are four kitchens that offer meals near the park and four more within two miles, which all offer additional services, she said. City officials said they would like to see churches support these facilities, for example, by transporting disabled homeless to the kitchens.

Karen Gillette, who works on outreach at Trinity Cathedral, across the street from St. James Park, said that the church wants to help the homeless get services and they hope the city provides them with security and enough staffing.

“It’s the old adage and maybe people don’t agree with it,” Gillette said. “You can hand a person a fish or you can teach him how to fish. It seems to make sense to me.”

Edita Cruz, executive director of Martha’s Kitchen — a soup kitchen that has fed the hungry in San Jose since the 1980s — said the city should invest in a center for the homeless so nonprofits can bring food and case managers.

Feeding the homeless in the park, though, doesn’t give them an incentive to go elsewhere.

“The park is a public place. It should be open for everybody and enjoyed by everybody. Unfortunately, some of the homeless that stay there are giving the rest of the homeless a bad name because they’re doing illegal activities. They are not keeping the park clean or safe for that matter,” she said.

Parks should be open to everyone including the homeless, Cruz said, but people there should behave and keep the area clean for others.

“Even if you’re a well-dressed business man, if you’re smoking dope there, it’s not for you,” she said.

There were 4,350 homeless people in San Jose this year, a 7 percent increase from 2015, according to a homeless census and survey by Applied Survey Research. Researchers conducted the survey on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25.

About 33 percent of San Jose’s homeless population slept outdoors in the streets, parks or encampments. About 43 percent stayed in an emergency, transitional or other shelters. The remainder lived at night in a structure or indoor area not normally used for sleeping, a motel or hotel or inside a vehicle.

Some homeless people who frequent the park say the feedings there do lend a helping hand and the city shouldn’t crack down on them.

Gerardo Mercado sat in a Target shopping cart, his leg propped up next to his crutches, blankets and pink teddy bear.

He became homeless in 2000 after losing his job and some bad decisions. Dealing with a broken ankle, Mercado said he’s also visited nonprofits but sometimes feels judged by some of the staff.

“If people are willing to come together and make sure the food is healthy and there is no damage then why not?,” he said. “We all have the right to have something healthy to eat.”