People began gathering before the food was ready, and for minutes, light chatter and box fans made the only noise in a warm room clustered with tables and chairs.
One man kicked off his shoes and lay on his back across a row of chairs, his knees raised. Another slumped forward in his seat, resting his head on arms folded atop a table. Others parked their bicycles in the corner, near one of the fans struggling to circulate air as the room filled. One man found an outlet for his cellphone charger.
Then they stood up and formed a line leading from a bank of food trays out the doorway to take a hot meal of "hamburger surprise," or ground beef mixed with corn and green beans. Volunteers from St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock also served salad, bread, brownies and watermelon slices while worship songs flowed from speakers.
Within an hour, From His Throne Ministries at 1101 W. Markham St. had cleared out, leaving little evidence that between 15-20 volunteers had served meals to dozens of Little Rock's homeless who live downtown.
Similar dinners are served four nights per week, but Monday's was the final one before the city's Board of Directors listens to a proposal for a shake-up: moving some of these suppers miles away as part of a deal to avert a law restricting meals in city parks.
Not all of the people who eat at From His Throne are currently homeless. Some said they are willing to try the new location, outside the homeless resource center Jericho Way, 3000 Springer Blvd. Others said they won't.
"That's pushing [us] out, so they can expand the urban area, make it more cosmopolitan," said Chuck Lasure, who is homeless. "One, you're going to have resentment from all of us to begin with, most of us, because they see the same thing I see. You're pushing us out."
City Manager Bruce Moore in May introduced an ordinance that would require people to obtain a "large group feeding" permit, pay a $25 fee and pay a $100 refundable deposit before providing meals to 25 or more people in a city park. Groups could obtain only six permits per year for the city's 63 parks.
The Board of Directors called for a volunteer committee to study the issue. That committee -- made up of business interests, city officials, homeless people and homeless advocates -- found that just one group, called the Broadway Bridge Project, has regularly served meals to large groups in public parks.
About 20 churches and other organizations make up the Broadway Bridge Project. The volunteers rotate evenings for which they are responsible for providing meals for the homeless.
Traditionally, the group hosted supper under the bridge -- which City Attorney Tom Carpenter said is park space -- but the bridge replacement project displaced the group. They settled in at From His Throne Ministries, but with construction wrapping up, they faced a choice of whether to stay at the church or move back.
Now, volunteers and those they serve have been asked to move about 4 miles to Jericho Way as part of a proposal to set aside the ordinance.
Committee Chairman Jordan Johnson will recommend to the board at its 4 p.m. meeting today at City Hall, 500 W. Markham St., that the city support this plan by building a tent and expanding its existing van service to shuttle homeless people to the dinners and then back downtown.
About six groups have agreed to participate in the trial, said Elizabeth Dowell, who coordinates the Broadway Bridge Project. Others have not decided, and some have declined to do so. On days when dinner is served at Jericho Way, there will be no food at From His Throne, Dowell said.
"We're not going to split it up," Dowell said.
Daniel Ayodele, 63, was homeless for two years in Little Rock and now lives in a downtown apartment. He frequently rides his bike to From His Throne Ministries for dinner and said he's willing to try the move.
"I would go out there, but it would be harder," Ayodele said.
Ruthanne Murphy coordinates St. James United Methodist Church's twice-monthly suppers at From His Throne. With the summer warming up, she longs for a return to the cool breeze off the Arkansas River by the Broadway bridge.
St. James won't move to Jericho Way, partly because of the heat and partly because she worries about taking child volunteers near railroad tracks, Murphy said.
Joe Malet, who runs From His Throne, said he's willing to stay open as long as people want to stop by.
"I understand the city's side of things, but the main thing is the people are going to stay downtown," Malet said, noting that this is where people live and earn money. "All I do is open the doors."
Metro on 07/11/2017