Distributing food in Oppositon to Violence
 
 

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE
 

What is Food Not Bombs?

We are one of the fastest growing grassroots political groups in North America. There are over 70 autonomous chapters protesting militarism and poverty by serving free vegetarian food to people in need and in support of on-going political organizing efforts. We believe that society and government should value human life over material wealth. Many of the problems in the world stem from this simple crises in values. By giving away free food to people in need in public spaces we directly dramatize the level of hunger in this country and the surplus of food being wasted. We also call attention to the failures of the society to support those within it while funding the forces of war and violence, including the police. Food Not Bombs was formed in Boston in 1980 as an  outgrowth of the anti-nuclear movement in New England. We are committed to the use of non- violent direct action to change society. It is by working today to create sustainable institutions that prefigure the kind of society we want to live in, that we build a vital and caring movement for progressive social change. Food Not Bombs serves food as a practical act of sustaining people and
organizations, not as symbolism. Thousands of meals are served each week by FNB groups in North America and Europe.

Why Does Food Not Bombs Gets Arrested in SF?

Since 1988 the City of San Francisco has been constantly harassing and persecuting Food Not Bombs and its members. In the past 7 years almost 1,000 people have been arrested on a wide variety of charges, thousands of dollars in cooking equipment has been confiscated and destroyed illegally and 12 vehicles have been stolen by the police. In 1989 the City got a court to order FNB to stop serving food without permission from the government. However, in 1991 the Parks Department voted to eliminate all permits for serving food to homeless people, creating a catch-22. The reasons for this attitude is that Food Not Bombs has consistently supported every effort by homeless people to dramatize their condition through setting up visible encampments and tent cities. Each time the city decides to crack down on homeless people, they start by harassing and arresting Food Not Bombs. The City's two top homeless policies are 1) Put them in jail and 2) Out of site, out of mind. Food Not Bombs is on the front line with homeless people resisting these policies. As part of our effort to end this persecution we have filed numerous law suits in state and federal court which have all been dismissed. As a result of our requests, Amnesty International has agreed to investigate the City's harassment. They have indicated they may declare any Food Not Bombs people in jail "prisoners of conscience" and work for their unconditional release. We have also requested that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights open an investigation.

What Are the Basic Principles of Food Not Bombs?

We are a loose knit group of independent collectives, but we do share several unifying principle that define us as Food Not Bombs. These are:

Food Recycling

Enough food is wasted each day to feed everyone who is hungry. Food Not Bombs recovers healthy nutritious vegetarian food that would have been otherwise discarded and prepares and serves it to people. We collect food from produce warehouses and grocery stores that might be unsalable because it no longer has the necessary shelf and we use it the same day.

Non-Violence

Our society is dominated by violence. Our daily lives are effected by the constant threat of crime and police violence and the ongoing possibility of nuclear war. The authority and power of our government is based on the threat and use of violence at homeand abroad. Food Not Bombs is committed to a vision of society that is motivated by love and sharing not violence and greed.

Poverty is also violence. While our society pursues the massive accumulation of wealth for the few it relegates millions to hunger and homelessness. This combined with police violence, inadequate healthcare and various forms of discrimination deprive each of us of a vibrant and loving way of life. The commercial food industry is also predicated on violence. It involves the slaughtering of millions of animals and the poisoning of our planet through the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. It also allows tons of usable food to go to waste to insure profits. Food Not Bombs serves only vegetarian food and makes every effort to use organic produce. Food Not Bombs challenges the violence of society by the free sharing of food and non-violent actions that highlight the injustices of militarism and poverty. While the police have attacked Food Not Bombs for its actions, we never respond with violence because we would never want to recreate the authoritative methods of the state in our own actions and because we are on the streets every day in small numbers supporting people. The police have a constant standing army armed and prepared to use violence at any moment. We cannot jeopardize ourselves or the people we work with through the use of shortsighted acts of violence in the heat of the moment.

Consensus Decision Making

Rather then relying on a system of winner take all, Food Not Bombs believes that every member of the group should have a full opportunity to participate in shaping all the group's decisions. The consensus process insures that the will of the majority doesn't dismiss the values and contributions of everyone else. Consensus process forces us to resolve conflicts through negotiation and compromise rather than overruling and censoring.