Seven Steps to Organizing a Local Food Not Bombs/Comida No Bombas At the outset, starting a Food Not Bombs/Comida No Bombas might seem like more than you can handle. Work on the basics, taking one step at a time. There is no need to feel pressured into accomplishing everything all at once. It might take a couple weeks to get things rolling or it may take months. One person cannot be a Food Not Bombs group, but one person can start one. Once you have made the decision to start a local Food Not Bombs group, talk to some other people you know who might be interested in working with you. It might be a group of friends, or members of an existing group, or you can put up fliers announcing your intentions and see who responds (this might be best for an infoshop, coffeehouse or other gathering place where people who are likely to be interested in FNB hang out). Pick a meeting date, time, and place and gather everyone who is interested together to talk about what you would like to do. The following is a step-by-step process to get your food operation up and running. Once you have done this, try to find ways to help the homeless get off the streets and rebuild their lives. You may find more effective ways to get things done in your local area so, whatever works for your group is the best path to follow: Step 1: Start by getting a phone number and mailing address. By using either a voice mail box or an answering machine, you can have an out-going message with information about the next meeting time and place and you can receive messages so you never miss a call. Besides, who wants to sit by the phone waiting for it to ring; we'd rather be out in the streets feeding people. Likewise, use a commercial mail box or post office box for your permanent address. As your membership changes, your mailing address can remain the same and you won't have to redo your literature. Responsibility for collecting and responding to the mail can be easily rotated. And, most importantly, you won't have uninvited guests showing up at your home or apartment wanting to know "where is the free food." Step 2: Next, make fliers announcing the existence of a local Food Not Bombs. By handing them out at events, posting them around town, and/or mailing them out to your friends, you will start getting phone calls, mail, and additional volunteers. It is helpful to have regularly scheduled weekly meetings or always know when the next meeting is so you can ask people to attend. This helps newcomers feel welcome and tells them how to become involved in your activities. Step 3: The next step is to arrange for the use of a vehicle. This can be a major challenge or it might not. Between the members of your group, there might be enough vehicles of the right size for your needs. If not, you might be able to arrange borrowing a van or truck from a sympathetic group or organization. If you are very lucky, you might be able to convince someone to donate one to you. And, if none of the above leads to you obtaining a vehicle, you can always hold fund-raising events to raise money specifically for the purchase of a van. Step 4: Identify a place where you plan to serve. It should be a location near where there is a visibly obvious local homeless population (they may be less visible in communities with aggressive police harassment practices). Homeless people may camp near public assistance offices, local homeless services or cheap single-room-occupancy hotels where they can stay until their welfare check runs out. Public parks are usually a good choice (they are often camping or gathering places for the homeless), but be sure to get a copy of the ordinances in the local Municipal Code governing permissible activities in the park. It is a good idea to have this with you when you go to serve in case the cops show up and try to tell you it is illegal to feed the homeless. In this way, you know what their rules REALLY are. If they insist you are breaking the law, make them write down which ordinance you are violating so you can read the letter of the law. Some cities or local governments have had laws banning public gatherings or public speaking as a pretext for harassing people whose political beliefs were unpopular with the government, but most of those laws were repealed after the 1960s. Know the letter of the law so it isn't used as a weapon against you. Highly visible locations are desirable, if they are close to the local homeless population because one of our objectives is to help make the "invisible homeless" more visible to those better off economically. Step 5: Find a place where you can cook. Usually, a persons home can be used, but it should be close enough to where you plan to serve so that the food will still be hot when you serve it. Many cities are now passing anti-homeless laws and they may prohibit cooking over an open flame in a park (or wherever you plan to serve) or require a permit. The best way to get around this and not have them send a health inspector to tell you that your food is too cold is to cook close to where you serve and figure out ways to keep the food hot in transit. Remember that it is a good idea to have a place to store the food between the time it is picked up and when it is cooked. Also be sure that you are cooking in a location where the residents or owners are comfortable with having a lot of people over to cook on a regular basis. You may even be able to get a local restaurant or co-op to let you cook in their kitchen. You may wish to distribute only cold food until you find a reliable place to cook. Get a decent Vegetarian Cookbook so you can cook simple but tasty meals that people actually want to eat. All our food is vegetarian, that is, no meat, dairy or eggs. The chief reason for this is that non-vegetarian foods are more prone to spoilage and we don't want people getting sick from our food. Another reason is that non-vegetarian foods require the human body to use more energy to digest them which is especially important for people who don't eat regularly or in the winter time when a person needs their energy to keep warm. We also want to dramatize the fact that international Agribusiness is buying up the land (or stealing it through government collusion and legal trickery) and destroying the environment in other countries to raise livestock and agricultural "export" crops at the expense of indigenous and poor subsistence farmers who are then forced into wage slave jobs in the cities to feed their families. At times, we will serve meat and dairy products which have been donated to us because we believe that eating is more important than being "politically correct"; however, we do not cook with animal products. Step 6: With flyers in hand, begin looking or sources of food. You will need a BRIEF one page flier explaining that FNB is an international organization which feeds the homeless and hungry, but without any details of our politics. One of the first places to look are local wholesale produce markets and bakeries. Produce markets must often throw away perfectly good produce because some of it has started to be discolored, even though most of it is perfectly good. Bakeries (like those who manufacture bagels) usually have a store for "day old bread and baked goods", but they may also donate to local food charities. If so, they may be persuaded to support FNB. Ask to speak to the Manager. Explain that you are willing to collect any food which is still edible, but which cannot be sold. Tell them you give the food to shelters and soup kitchens to feed hungry people. Remember, less is more: Don't volunteer any information the manager doesn't need to know to understand what you are doing, but be prepared to briefly answer questions. If they are interested and willing, arrange for a regular time to pick-up the food each week (or more often, based on how many times a week you can serve meals. This will depend on how many people are participating in your group). Have members of your group take responsibility for picking up the food. Another place to approach are the local co-ops and health food stores. These types of stores may be more supportive than commercial grocery store chains. Talk to the produce manager and explain what you are doing as detailed above. As your group grows, you can expand your search to include local food wholesalers, distributors, warehouses and producers. Don't commit to picking up more food than you have the ability to cook or distribute. Step 7: Begin by serving meals one day per week which is convenient to everyone who wants to help. Sunday is often a good day because few people have to work. Set a fixed time to meet and cook and a fixed time to serve so the people who you share food with will know when and where to expect you if they want to eat. As more people get involved, consider serving more days per week if peoples schedules permit it. It is advisable that you serve the food on paper plates with disposable utensils and cups. It may not be "politically correct", but it helps to stem the spread of diseases like Hepatitis and it will help prevent your being harassed by local health inspectors. From time to time you may score a bonanza of some kind of food so, identify local shelters and soup kitchen to donate any surplus food you collect so it doesn't go bad. Serve food at local political events so you can get the word out about Food Not Bombs and encourage more people to participate or start their own group. Find out about local non-profit groups who help the homeless get housing, shelter, medical care, jobs, etc. and give away literature to the homeless that tells them ways to get off the street without government assistance. [TEXT FOLLOWS, SIDE #1] Food Not Bombs/Comida No Bombas Los Angeles What is Food Not Bombs? We are one of the fastest growing grassroots political groups in the World. Food Not Bombs was formed in Boston in 1980 as an outgrowth of the anti-nuclear movement in New England. We are committed to non-violent Direct Action to change society. There are over 148 autonomous chapters in 11 countries in North America, Latin America and Europe serving free vegetarian food to people in need. What do we do? Food Not Bombs believes that society should value human life above material wealth, property or social privilege. Many of the problems in the World today stem from misplaced values. By giving away free food in public places we directly dramatize the scope of hunger and need and the surplus of food being wasted in the name of profit. Food Not Bombs distributes free produce, clothing and blankets to the poor, involves the poor and homeless in sustaining themselves and helps those abandoned by the system to work their way back to self-sufficiency. Food Not Bombs works with Homes Not Jails to demonstrate the volume of housing which lies unoccupied and wasted due to real estate speculation. We protest the continued spending by government on institutions of violence like the military, police and prisons while tens of thousands of people go hungry, homeless and without adequate health care. We also support other political organizing and Direct Action against corporate greed and government violence by serving free food at political events. Food Not Bombs is composed entirely of volunteers who cooperate with each other and make decisions by consensus. By working together to build sustainable organizations which reflect the way people ought to live and work together, we help to build a long-term movement toward constructive social and economic change. Food Recycling Poverty is a form of violence which is not necessary or natural. Capitalism makes food a source of profit rather than a source of nutrition. Much of the food produced spoils or is eaten by insects or rodents because of the inefficient system of distribution in the current economy. Food producers often destroy food to force up its price on the market. 46 Billion pounds of food are thrown away in the United States each year. Estimates indicate that only 4 Billion pounds of food would be required to end hunger in the United States. Food Not Bombs recycles food which would otherwise be thrown away through donations from local bakeries, stores and produce distributors. Food Not Bombs collects surplus food before it reaches the dumpsters and distributes it directly to the hungry, outdoors in a public, non-institutional setting. Healthy Meals Food Not Bombs serves healthy vegetarian meals that would pass any health inspection. We serve on paper plates with plastic utensils to help prevent transmission of hepatitis and other maladies which afflict people who don't have daily access to a shower and a clean bed. Why Vegetarian? The reason for serving vegetarian food is that meat takes more energy to digest and is harder on the stomach of a person who doesn't eat regularly. Meat is also harder to store and more prone to spoilage. Vegetables, fruits, breads and cereals digest more efficiently and provide the body with a quick source of energy. We Are Committed To Non-Violence We live in a society predicated on violence. Poverty is a form of violence because we are forced to work for low wages and in poor conditions to avoid starving and being homeless. To preserve this system laws are passed which penalize those who do not cooperate with the profiteering of an affluent minority. Police, courts and prisons penalize people who violate the laws. Food Not Bombs is non-violent because violence only attracts a more violent reaction from the government. Through our non-violence, we can better demonstrate the cruelty and unreasonableness of the government when they use violent methods against people whose only "crime" is to want to eat and have a roof over their head. Why is Food Not Bombs harassed by the police? Food Not Bombs is harassed because rich people and suburban Yuppies are trying to force the homeless out of sight so they can pretend there is no homeless problem. They would rather allow people to die of hunger and exposure than take responsibility for fellow community members who are victims of high rents, layoffs, domestic violence, mental illness and addiction. The dismantling of the Welfare State, cruel laws against panhandling, camping and even sitting on the sidewalk, and other unenforceable laws intended to give the Police the power to steal the belongings of people forced onto the street, put them in jail or otherwise harass them are just the beginning of the war on the poor. Every year National Guard Armories open later and later to provide homeless people from dying on the street from exposure, but the U.S. Congress is now proposing to close all National Guard Armories permanently. At the same time they have enacted "three strikes laws" to make it easier to imprison people they consider "undesirable" and are building prisons operated by corporations who will be allowed to use prisoners as free slave labor. Food Not Bombs activists have successfully defied government attempts to criminalize poverty and they are committed to continuing to fight for a society which respects the dignity and freedom of all people. What are the Principles of Food Not Bombs? Food Not Bombs is based on the Anarchist ideas of "Direct Action", "Mutual Aid", and "Propaganda By The Deed". "Direct Action" - Rather than begging the government and capitalists who are responsible for poverty, hunger and homelessness to change their behavior, we believe that people who care about these problems must organize and help to remedy them themselves. Food Not Bombs is a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) organization. Nothing gets done unless we do it. Each local Food Not Bombs group takes responsibility for raising money to buy cooking utensils and other things they need and to collect and cook the food they serve. Food Not Bombs helps people in need directly rather than wondering why "someone" else doesn't do something. "Mutual Aid" - Anarchist Morality is based on two ideas called "Solidarity" and "Equality". We believe that people have natural feelings of empathy towards victims of injustice and a natural desire to help them. We believe in the idea that people should treat others as they wish to be treated themselves. These values do not come from laws or institutions but are a natural part of us that we only ignore out of selfishness. Mutual Aid is the idea that the highest quality of life in society is achieved not by competition, exploitation or the "survival of the fittest", but by people working together to overcome problems that might seem insurmountable for one person alone. "Propaganda By The Deed" - By organizing ourselves, doing what is right and making the World a better place through political collective action by our own hands, we learn to work together, we gain a sense of our own personal capabilities and we demonstrate the kind of World we want to live in to other people. We believe that the methods we use to achieve change will be reflected in the results that we produce.