Food Not Bombs 25th Birthday Street Pic-Nic Belfast

antrim | anti-capitalism | event notice Friday May 20, 2005 17:22 by belfast grassroots against the G8 g8belfast at doyourservice dot com 0770 470 8172,

Part of the Belfast Weekend of Dissent!

Sat 28th 1pmFront of City Hall.

A street pic-nic with free food, music, games, kids activities, celebrating 25 Years of Food Not Bombs. Bring food to share, toys games banners balloons & make it a party...

Belfast Food Not Bombs have been serving food at demo's/actions & court cases since 2002 & have had a regular street kitchen on Botanic Ave since late 2003. Belfast FNB are traveling to Scotland to help feed thousands of activists at the Dissent! Convergence Space in Scotland.

In 1980 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, seven anti-nuclear activists started a collective that came to be known as Food Not Bombs. They recovered surplus food that couldn’t be sold from grocery stores, bakers and food manufacturers. This food was distributed to housing projects, daycare centres and battered women’s shelters. They also prepared vegetarian meals and shared it along with their literature at protests.

Over 25 years, this small experiment grew into a worldwide movement with hundreds of autonomous chapters active on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica.

The Food Not Bombs movement is unique in many ways. It’s rare for political movements to cross so many national boundaries and cultures. It’s unusual for a grassroots progressive movement to survive 25 years and still be entirely grassroots. Also, from the beginning, Food Not Bombs was multi-issue and encouraged the public and activists to see that all social injustices are connected. And, while it might seem strange today, Food Not Bombs was at the forefront of focusing on building the kind of society they wanted instead of trying to overthrow the current system. These activists believed they did not need to attack the oppressors to be in conflict with the state, but by simply doing what they believed was just, the authorities would attack and try to stop them.

There are several reasons why this movement is so strong. It is very empowering to collect, prepare and share free food all on your own and to do it with little money and few resources. Sharing food is powerful and magical. Additionally, when average people realize they have the power to make a difference, it can change their life. This is the foundation of social change and the authorities know it. In fact, San Francisco Police memos state that if they did not stop Food Not Bombs, the public might come to believe that they could solve social problems without government assistance. The self-empowerment of tens of thousands of people may be Food Not Bombs’ greatest achievement.

Every chapter shares the unifying principles of Food Not Bomb: a commitment to non-violent action, sharing free vegetarian food to anyone without restriction, and making decisions by participatory democracy or consensus. These ideals play an important role in the success of this movement. Food Not Bombs has no headquarters nor leaders and every volunteer has a say in the decisions of their local group. This leads to a strong sense of responsibility for the actions of the group and pride in what they accomplish. These lessons are often spread to other kinds of community organizing efforts. Many affinity groups addressing basic human needs and social
injustice have used Food Not Bombs as a model for their organizing.