Since 2010, Jillian Pim has been laying out spreads of vegan dishes weekly at a pavilion in Stranahan Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale, sharing food with others who might not be able to afford a healthy meal. Pim is part of Food Not Bombs, a grassroots group that believes society could end hunger and poverty if war and militarization resources were reappropriated.

On October 31, 2014, Pim and other Food Not Bombs members continued serving plates of warm, nutritious food as they did every Friday. They were unfazed that a city ordinance, which had gone into effect that day, now made their weekly gatherings illegal. The new law dictated that all Fort Lauderdale feeding sites would require a permit, permission from property owners, and certain amenities like toilets and sinks.

I don’t think anyone with an ounce of morality would want to arrest people giving food to people who are starving, Pim remembers thinking. “Sharing food is our form of protest, our right to free speech.”