Hungry for Peace

By Keith McHenry

See Sharp Press

Copyright © 2012 Keith McHenry
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-937276-06-5

Contents

Preface by Jo Swanson,
Introduction — After the Riots,
SECTION ONE,
Solidarity Not Charity,
A New Society,
Nonviolence in Theory,
Nonviolence in Practice,
Food,
Not Bombs,
How Food Not Bombs Got its Name,
SECTION TWO,
Logistics,
Seven Steps to Organizing a Local Food Not Bombs Group,
The "Office",
Decision-Making,
Outreach,
Food Collection,
Food Distribution,
The Kitchen,
Outdoor Tables and Field Kitchen,
Beyond Basic Food Collection and Distribution,
Street Theater,
Fundraising,
Catering,
Concerts, Protests, Gatherings and other Food Not Bombs Events,
Models Used to Organize a Local Food Not Bombs Group,
Food Not Bombs and the State,
Non-profit, Tax-exempt Status,
Legal Tips,
The Revolution Doesn't Need A Permit,
If the Government Tries to Shut Down Your Meal,
If the Government Arrests You,
Support People,
Call the Media,
Jail Solidarity,
Courts and Trials,
False Allegations of Terrorism,
Basic Steps to Effective Community Organizing,
Organizing Literature Tables, Meetings, Events, Tours and Gatherings,
How to Have a Successful Literature Table,
Packing the Literature Box,
How to Organize a Meeting,
How to Organize an Event,
How to Organize a Tour,
How to Organize a Gathering,
Planning a Campaign of Nonviolent Direct Action,
Basic Types of Nonviolent Direct Actions,
Marches,
Vigils and Tent City Protests,
Occupations and Flash Mobs,
Blockades and Lockdowns,
Risking Arrest Sharing Free Meals,
Strikes and Walkouts,
Food Not Bombs Relief Efforts,
Projects of Food Not Bombs,
Food Not Lawns,
Homes Not Jails,
Free Radio,
Indymedia,
Bikes Not Bombs,
SECTION THREE,
The Story of Food Not Bombs,
The First Food Not Bombs Chapter,
The Second Food Not Bombs Chapter,
Food Not Bombs Becomes Global,
The Next Thirty Years of Food Not Bombs,
SECTION FOUR,
Food Not Bombs Vegan Recipes,
Food Logistics,
Equipment,
Tips on Cooking for Large Numbers of People,
Recovering Food and Shopping,
Food Handling and Storage,
Composting,
Food Not Bombs Recipes,
Drinks,
Simple Recipes,
Breakfast,
Lunch and Dinner,
Salads,
Salad Dressings,
Soups,
Desserts,
AFTERWORD A Global Spring,
APPENDIXES,
The Eight Founders of the Food Not Bombs Movement,
Quotes Related to Food Not Bombs,
Major Events in the History of Food Not Bombs,
Books that Include Food Not Bombs,
Howard Zinn's Foreword to the First Food Not Bombs Book,
Bibliography,
Flyers and Forms,
Acknowledgments,
The Author,

CHAPTER 1

SECTION ONE

SOLIDARITY NOT CHARITY

THE PRINCIPLES OF FOOD NOT BOMBS

1. The food is always vegan or vegetarian and free to everyone without restriction, rich or poor, stoned or sober.

2. Food Not Bombs has no formal leaders or headquarters, and every group is autonomous and makes decisions using the consensus process.

3. Food Not Bombs is dedicated to nonviolent direct action and works for nonviolent social change.

"They don't want to feed the hungry, they just want to make an anarchist type statement and we aren't going to allow it."

— San Francisco Police Captain Dennis Martel

The name Food Not Bombs states our most fundamental principle: society needs to promote life, not death. Implement the positive and end cooperation with the negative. Live in a world of abundance and stop fearing a future of scarcity. Celebrate with love, not hate; cooperation instead of domination; and compassion, not exploitation. Food not bombs. Devote our time and resources for the real security of food, shelter, education, and healthcare instead of on weapons, military forces, prisons, and social control. By sharing free food without restrictions, we illustrate the fact that there is an abundance of the things we need and that scarcity is a fiction that benefits a small minority. By sharing free meals under the banner Food Not Bombs, the founders of Food Not Bombs sought to educate the public with a message about the national priorities of the United States, pointing out that half the Federal budget was spent on the military including debts from past wars while millions went hungry every day. Our society condones, and even promotes, violence and domination. Authority and power are primarily derived from the threat and use of violence. This affects our everyday lives through the constant threat of crime, domestic violence, police repression, war, and even the threat of total annihilation from nuclear war, and policies that speed, damaging effects of global climate change. Such constant exposure to violence, including the threat of it, leads many people to feel hopeless, helpless, and have low self-esteem. Economic exploitation is another common form of violence and the fear of poverty and homelessness causes many to work long hours for low wages under stressful or dangerous conditions. All of this would be unnecessary if it was not for the need of the wealthy to dominate and control the public so they can maintain their power and prosperity. Their use of bombs is their ultimate tool of repression. The principle goal of Food Not Bombs is to mobilize the people to withdraw their cooperation from this system of violence and coercion. To change society so no one is forced to be hungry. Food Not Bombs has never been considered a charity. Our volunteers are dedicated to taking nonviolent direct action for human rights, animal liberation, the environment, and an end to exploitation and war.

The economic and political systems themselves are violent. Poverty is their most pervasive form of violence, and one expression of the violence of poverty is hunger. Over a billion people struggle to have enough to eat because of the decisions of business and government leaders. Trade agreements and laws forcing genetically engineered seeds and chemicals on farmers, commodity speculation, and taxpayer subsidies to agribusiness directly increase hunger. The absence of democracy and access to information are the leading cause of hunger and poverty, not drought, pests and floods, and therefore the solution to ending world hunger is the dismantling of our political and economic systems. Of course we need to make sure everyone has enough to eat today, but if we really want to end hunger we need more than charity, we need to withdraw our cooperation with those institutions responsible for global poverty and create our own democratic, self-sustainable communities.

The Food Not Bombs movement provides food and logistical support to activists protesting war, poverty, exploitation, and domination, while replacing that abusive culture with one of abundance, cooperation, equality and peace. Our volunteers are working to replace an unsustainable political and economic system with a decentralized democratic set of grassroots solutions that address the real needs of everyone. Food Not Bombs is an organization devoted to developing positive personal, political, and economic alternatives. Revolutionaries are often depicted as working for the overthrow of the government by any means necessary. Food Not...