Breakfast Brigade vows to keep feeding in Eugene park, despite city and neighborhood pushback

A charitable feeding group in Eugene is once again facing a challenge to its presence in Washington Jefferson Park.

The Breakfast Brigade has recently lost its city park permit and its financial sponsorship with the Burrito Brigade. And it’s receiving pushback from some neighbors in the Whiteaker area, who say they’re concerned about public safety.

‘To put a Band-Aid on a bullet hole’

Dozens of people had already lined up on the sidewalk next to Washington Jefferson Park, at just after 9 a.m. on a Friday morning.

Volunteers with the Breakfast Brigade began unloading the day’s meals, along with coffee, pre-wrapped sandwiches, and a box filled with blankets.

Ira, a homeless resident of Eugene, said he was there to get food for a friend.

“He’s disabled, so he’s not able to move around as much,” said Ira. “So we just got these fine people out here — they do it for us.”

Washington Jefferson Park is located in the Whiteaker neighborhood, near downtown Eugene. The space is partially covered by freeway bridges that hang overhead.

The Breakfast Brigade serves meals there four days a week. And since this spring, organizer Lisa Levsen said the number of people eating has risen sharply, sometimes surpassing 200 people a day.

Levsen believes this is due to recent sweeps of homeless camps in Eugene, rising costs of living, and a reduction in food stamp benefits. She said both unhoused and housed people regularly use the service.

“If you’re hungry, you can’t make it to your social worker, or to your parole officer, or to your court appointment, or fill out your paperwork because you’re vulnerable and you have no nutrition,” said Levsen. “So we’re just trying to put a Band-Aid on a bullet hole.”

But some neighbors and businesses are concerned about the behavior of people living in Washington Jefferson Park, and they’ve argued that the Breakfast Brigade may be encouraging people to congregate there.

“We were told by people that they didn’t really feel safe in the park anymore. There’s definitely a problem with garbage. There is an increase in crime,” said Margaret Steinbrunn, the Chair of the Whiteaker Community Council, a neighborhood organization.

“There are times you can’t walk past the sidewalk,” she said. “If you happen to be in a wheelchair or pushing a baby carriage, you’re in trouble.”

Blair Hickok, a Breakfast Brigade volunteer who was formerly unhoused, said the availability of meals is not the only reason why people are gravitating towards the area.

“You’re out of the elements. It’s lit. You’re less likely to get attacked or robbed,” said Hickok. “It’s got bathroom access. It’s close to the river, it’s close to the jail, and a lot of these folks are getting swept and thrown in jail. And it’s easy to find a community back here, because people congregate.”

Sending the letter

On Aug. 26, the Whiteaker Community Council sent a letter to the City of Eugene, asking them to pull the Breakfast Brigade’s permit, and to prohibit daily feeding organizations in the park.

Steinbrunn said everyone deserves to be fed, and the Whiteaker community is interested in helping the Breakfast Brigade find somewhere else to go.

“We have to talk about what’s best for the neighborhood,” said Steinbrunn, who said even some longtime unhoused residents of the neighborhood don’t want to go into the park anymore. “It’s unfortunate.”

Leadership with the Burrito Brigade, a separate nonprofit which previously served as Breakfast Brigade’s financial sponsor, said they had tried to address the neighbors’ concerns.

Executive Director Jennier Denson spoke about the process at a Whiteaker Community Council meeting in September. She said she’d proposed that the Breakfast Brigade could transition to mobile services, or rotate the spots in town where people are fed.

“We approached with compromises and solutions,” said Denson. “The breakfast crew was not willing to adjust their service schedule or (make) any adaptations.”

Levsen said volunteers are happy to discuss new strategies. But she said they don’t currently have the resources to go mobile or rent their own building.

As for other locations, she said she hasn’t been presented with options that can meet the group’s stated needs: having a no-barrier space with coverage from winter weather.

“It’s inhumane and undignified to make a person stand in the rain, and then eat their food in the rain,” said Levsen.

Pulling the permit

On Sept. 5, the City of Eugene revoked the Breakfast Brigade’s permit for the park, citing separate concerns about parking and insurance violations.

According to Kelly Shadwick with Eugene Parks and Open Space, this process started before the Whiteaker Community Council’s letter was sent out.

Shadwick said for months, park staff repeatedly tried and failed to get volunteers into compliance with park rules. Conversely, Levsen said the city’s requirements were often unclear.

The Breakfast Brigade shared email communications between the parties with KLCC. Eugene Parks and Open Space corroborated the descriptions provided below.

On June 13, park staff emailed the Breakfast Brigade, saying the group would now need liability insurance because of a change in enforcement of city policy.

Parks staff told the volunteers to contact a different city department — the Claims Department — if they needed further help with the process.

Instead, the Breakfast Brigade sent park staff several clarifying questions about the permit. It took nearly two months before a park staffer responded with more details on Aug. 16, nearly three weeks before the permit was ultimately revoked.

Levsen said volunteers tasked their financial sponsor, the Burrito Brigade, with obtaining liability insurance. But Denson said they weren’t able to get documents over to the city in time.

Shadwick said she’s unaware of any other organizations that have had difficulties obtaining liability insurance for park events in a timely manner. She said in her experience, the process only takes a few days.

Also in that June 13 email, park staff warned the Breakfast Brigade that it was breaking its parking agreement. They said volunteers were placing vehicles on the turf, fully blocking pedestrian pathways, and leaving their cars in the park after unloading food.

Levsen said even after that warning, there have been volunteers who’ve left vehicles in the park on select occasions. But she said organizers have worked to ensure they know not to do it again, and she said the Breakfast Brigade has always avoided parking on the grass.

“We try to be responsive to parks and follow their rules. So, we didn’t mean to break them,” said Levsen. “We’re not sure it warrants much more than — ’Hey, remember you’re not supposed to do this?’ as opposed to taking your permit away.”

A new name

Three days after the permit was revoked, the board of the Burrito Brigade held an emergency meeting, and voted to end its contract with the Breakfast Brigade.

In a statement by email, Denson told KLCC that decision was because of “community reactions and the potential negative impact” on the Burrito Brigade.

As a result of the split, volunteers have lost access to their sponsor’s kitchen, and have been asked to change their name. Levsen said the Breakfast Brigade will now be known as Neighbors Feeding Neighbors.

What happens next

Levsen said volunteers have now appealed the city’s decision about their permit. According to Shadwick, there will be a hearing later this month.

Levsen said Neighbors Feeding Neighbors has filed as a 501(c)(3), and will be ready to obtain liability insurance moving forward. She said she’s interested in moving to the north side of the park, to create distance from concerned neighbors.

Shadwick said if the appeal doesn’t work, the Breakfast Brigade could apply for a permit again in the future, but the city may choose to deny it.

“Certainly if we have a partner that — just despite trying to work with them — is not able to follow our guidelines, that is something we would take into consideration seriously when it comes to reviewing any future applications to be in a park space,” said Shadwick.

In the meantime, volunteers are serving from the sidewalk of Washington Jefferson Park.

Shadwick said she isn’t aware of any plans for city action against the group’s presence there, and that wouldn’t be considered until at least after the appeals hearing.

During a different permit dispute last year, the Eugene Police Department warned the Breakfast Brigade volunteers that they could face arrest, although officers ultimately took no action.

Steinbrunn said she’s now trying to organize a meeting with city officials, Whiteaker community members, and local feeding organizations. Levsen said she’s willing to participate.

“The most important thing is that we’re continuing to work with them to try to come up with a solution that works for everyone,” said Steinbrunn. “That’s going to mean that everyone needs to compromise a little because people need to eat.”

Levsen said volunteers would ultimately like to have their own building, once they can obtain grant money. But in the meantime, she said they will not agree to pause services, no matter what.

“We plan on continuing to feed hungry people, regardless of rules that are created by the government that tell us that we cannot do so,” said Levsen, “because we recognize the need, and we believe that is our right to fulfill the need.”

This story comes from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.