Since it is the time of the year when millions remember history's most
famous homeless family and the birth of the prince of peace it might be
a good time to review some of the many things our Food Not Bombs
volunteers have accomplished this year in the effort to support the
rights of the homeless and bring an end to war.
We woke to a beautiful snow fall on this holiday morning in Taos.
Horses grazed nearby for bits of grass made visible with a soft movement
of one of their front hooves. Turquoise blue sky starts to peek out
behind smaller clouds drifting away from the storm still dusting the
Taos Mountains. The silence inspires reflection. Not only on the violent
mass murders, wars, the impact of the climate crisis and increasing
poverty but on the many brave accomplishments the 99 % are striving to
implement.
The year started after our volunteers helped provide meals at
occupations all over the world from Moscow, Russia to Zuccotti Park in
New York City. Our St Petersburg volunteers slid past the guards and
replaced the Russian flag with an Occu - Pie Jolly Rogers on the
historic ship the Aurora on the anniversary of the vessels first shot
fired at the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution. Our cooks helped
provide meals at Freedom Plaza, Occupy Philadelphia, Tampa, Miami, San
Francisco, Rochester, Oakland, Los Angeles and Occupy Boston across the
street from the location where Food Not Bombs shared its first meal on
March 26, 1981 in protest to the investment policies of the Bank of
Boston. While not the first occupations we have prepared meals for they
sure were important in reshaping the conversation about the economic and
political system.
After four long years working on our new book "Hungry For Peace - How
you can help end poverty and war with Food Not Bombs " we came out with
our first edition just in time to donate copies at occupations all over
the country. Replacing our original book first published in 1992 this
184 page volume has already had an impact helping volunteers start a
wave of new Food Not Bombs groups.
The Food Not Bombs Free Skool was founded on an acre pasture in Taos,
New Mexico in March. We finally made progress on drilling a well after
several climate change related delays. Our neighbor Art plowed our
pasture, we built a stone fire pit, raised our tipi and worked hard in
the sun double digging and laying rocks for the raised vegetable beds.
Progress was also made on organizing the curriculum and forming a
strategy for the free workshops.
Food Not Bombs volunteers from Poland, the United States and Africa
participated in the second Ethiopian Vegan Association Conference. Local
volunteers started weekly meal in Addis Ababa providing over 100 meals
every week. Activists in Somalia reach out to our Ethiopian volunteers
seeking information on how to start a chapter in Mogadishu. New chapters
also started in Tbilisi, Singapore, Southwest England, and dozens of
other cities.
"Merry X-mas and happy new year. After you came to us and showed us how
to feed the needy we'll hit our 21 week on next friday. Guess what? We
feed 2000 street people on our 20 weeks. Wow. Thank you!"- Frew
Getachew, Addis Ababa Food Not Bombs.
The authorities didn't rest in their campaign to silence progressive
voices. Cities in every area of the United States implemented policies
to ban or restrict the sharing of free meals and information in public.
Philadelphia and Houston were two of nearly 40 cities to announce harsh
measures against Food Not Bombs in the wake of the occupations.
Pittsburg Police threatened to arrest our volunteers a week before the
holidays.
The FBI also set out to entrap a number of our volunteers on serious
criminal charges. Two Food Not Bombs volunteers helping cook for Occupy
Cleveland, Brandon Baxter and Connor Stevens were entrapped in an FBI
bombing plot as part of the Obama administration's campaign to stop the
May Day resurgence of the Occupy Movement. The FBI sent an agent and a
convicted drug dealer to the kitchen on October 21, 2011 and spent the
met half a year truing to involve them in the bombing of a bridge
outside Cleveland. Connor was sentenced to 8 years and Brandon was
sentenced to nine years and 9 months. Chicago Food Not Bombs volunteer
Jeremy Hammond was arrested for sharing information he found with
Wikileaks on the illegal surveillance of Strategic Forecasting Inc., or
Stratfor, a global intelligence firm in Austin, Texas. Jeremy was
denied bail and faces life in prison even though his only crime is
shedding light on the massive private security web that has been working
with government officials to disrupt legal community efforts to protect
the environment, seek peace and social justice and implement solutions
to poverty and hunger.
Food Not Bombs activists in central Florida spent months preparing for
the Food Not Bombs World Gathering in Tampa. Volunteers held workshops
and provided meals at Occupy Tampa and provided food at a number
protests against the policies of the Republican Party. The The
Autonomous Playhouse with Dan The Pandarchist preformed both on the
streets at benefit events in Ybor city. Dan the Pandarchist set out on
tour preforming throughout southeastern United States.
Once again Food Not Bombs groups all over the world provided free
vegan meals to the public during our annual Anti-McDonald's day actions
on October 16th. We also provided vegan meals at many other animal
liberation actions in solidarity with local efforts.
We helped provide food to those participating in the Casserole
Revolution in Canada, the student uprising in Chile and protests against
austerity in Europe. Our activists also provided food at protests for
human rights and in defense of the environment in the Middle East, Asia,
Australia and many other areas of the world.
As Hurricane Sandy was rushing past the east coast of Florida
volunteers were calling and emailing offering to help. Long Island Food
Not Bombs was right in the thick of the crisis responding with thousands
of pounds of food and supplies. A kitchen was donated at the Park Slope
Community Church and hundreds of hot meals were shares at the Rockaways,
Coney Island and Red Hook. That kitchen also provided support to the new
Staten Island Food Not Bombs at first bring prepared meals, stoves and
other equipment and before long the new group was on the front lines of
the Sandy Relief effort.
A few weeks into the crisis Long Island Food Not Bombs was providing
the world's largest vegan Thanksgiving Feast with free groceries,
clothing and warm meals for the over 1,000 people that came to the
Hempstead Station.
The year ended with a tour of Mexico organized by Monterrey Comida No
Bombas. We collected food at the downtown Monterrey markets, cooked a
great meal and shared it first outside the hospital and than down in the
shopping district where we joined a protest against the December 1st
arrests in Mexico City during the protests against the Inauguration of
Enrique Peña Nieto. The activist showed video of the police violence on
the outside wall of a hotel and spoke of the corruption of the new
government and the charges against their friends.
We traveled all night to Guadalajara and set up a literature table at a
local cafe owned by some of the Food Not Bombs volunteers. We collected
produce and prepared another meal that we shared in the plaza at the
cathedral. That evening we had presentation at cafe "Under." In Mexico
City the tour stopped at the famous squat Chanti Ollin where we
presented a short history of Food Not Bombs before an amazing concert
than off to speak at Bar Tabú in Cuernavaca.
The bus ride to Chiapas was made interesting when workers blockaded the
highways south in protest to the new government. A 17 hour trip became a
24 hour ride but we made it only a few hours late to the speaking event
at "El Paliacate." The eager audience insisted we start a Food Not
Bombs in San Cristobal as soon as possible. The next morning we walked
the markets collecting food, prepared a huge meal with the help of not
only local volunteers but three activist from France who first cooked
with Food Not Bombs in Indonesia. At each presentation the idea of
organizing free "Soup Stock" Concerts and a Mexico wide Food Not Bombs
gathering for this May was the subject of much conversation. Tips on
having the most impact was shared and an interest in encouraging an
strong network was discussed. The tour ended with the promos that Food
Not Bombs was sure to be much more effective and provide much needed
food to many more people in 2013. And the world did not end even though
we were in Chiapas on the day that marked the end of the Mayan Calendar.
In the last weeks of 2012 we learned that Food Not Bombs was helping
organize a conference on climate change and the use of direct action to
slow the crisis to be held in March at the University of the
Philippines- Diliman. They invited Food Not Bombs cofounder Keith
McHenry to present the history, principles and current actions to defend
the Earth.
It has never been more important to seek an end to war, poverty and the
distraction of the Earth. One in two Americans are struggling to survive
and the numbers are increasing. The same crisis of poverty in on the
increase world wide at the same time that governments are increasing
their military budgets. Food Not Bombs volunteers are out engaging the
public in joining us in taking direct action to solve the many crisis we
are facing while providing direct support to the increasing number of
people that go hungry each day.
In this effort to increase the impact of our movement we are inviting
our volunteers to participate in the Food Not Bombs Free Skool with
subjects like planting a Food Not Lawns Community Garden, getting the
most from your regular Food Not Bombs meal, organizing strategies for
effective campaigns of nonviolent direct action, creative writing,
puppet making, natural building and improved use of the consensus
process to make decisions. This is a small taste of Food Not Bombs in
2012. We could not have done all of this without your help.
One of the most help things you can do is volunteer with one of our
local Food Not Bombs groups. If you find your community does not have an
active chapter you are invited to help start one. You can help host a
Food Not Bombs presentation in your community to help build interest in
joining your effort. We would love to give you all the support you may
need. If you are not able to volunteer but would like to help you can
make an automatic contribution each month or make a one time donation
before the end of the year.
Thanks so much again for your support.
Food Not Bombs
P.O. Box 424
Arroyo Seco, NM 87514 USA
1-800-884-1136
The Food Not Bombs Movement
http://foodnotbombs.net
Seven Steps to Starting a Local Food Not Bombs group in your community
http://foodnotbombs.net/seven.html
Food Not Bombs presentation
http://foodnotbombs.net/speaker.html
Please Give Today!
http://foodnotbombs.net/dollar_for_peace.html
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