Trilarion: Why would you need a permit to give food to somebody else (for free)? I wonder how the authorities will justify their steps. I can hardly think of any good reason. However maybe they can use a shop / apartment / parking lot / from a van/ ... place instead of the park if the local government doesn't want to be so kind as to support charity. I have the feeling there should be a better solution in any case.
amok: I am not questioning the permit, it is a bit silly. Understandable, maybe, but a bit silly. I am questioning the charity not getting a permit after being told they need one. What did they think would happen?
Well, as other people in the thread have said, the permit costs $800 for a day, so wouldn't really be very practical for this as it would (unless I'm drastically underestimating the amount they raise per week) would massively cut into the amount of food they could actually give away. The permit, as far as I can tell from other people, is (supposedly) only required to distribute food in the park: they therefore did it outside it.