Of the about 150 people gathered at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza Saturday.
Some were homeless, some were hungry, and some were neither, simply there to protest the meal limit imposed by the city at St. Francis House homeless shelter and soup kitchen.
The Rally Against Meal Limits called for an end to this limit, which requires St. Francis House to turn down the homeless and hungry after 130 meals are served each day.
The Rev. Milford Griner, the founder and chairman of the Rosa Parks Quiet Courage Committee, compared the meal limit to a kidnapping.
“I want to report an unknown number of meals that have been held hostage,” Griner told the crowd.
James Chamberlain, Catholic Actions Resource Exchange member and co-organizer of the rally, said this rally was a follow-up to a march they held in June to get the attention of the city commission.
Michele Cripe, a homelessness advocate, said the issue applies to all Gainesville residents.
“What so many people do not understand is being homeless can happen to anyone,” she said.
