History of the International FNB Movement
Food Not Bombs began in the early 1980s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, a city adjacent to Boston, when a group of anti-nuclear activists, who were protesting the nearby Seabrook power plant, began spray-painting the slogan “Money for food, not for bombs” around the city. The slogan was shortened to “Food Not Bombs”, and it became the name of their group. Soon after, they decided to put their slogan into practice. At a meeting of wealthy bank executives who were financing nuclear power projects, the group showed up and started handing out free food outside to a crowd of three hundred homeless people. The action was so successful that the group began doing it on a regular basis, collecting surplus food from grocery stores and preparing it into meals.
Today, there are more than 400 chapters of Food Not Bombs listed on the www.foodnotbombs.net website, with about half the chapters active outside the United States. Food Not Bombs has a loose structure: every chapter of Food Not Bombs embraces a few basic principles, and carries out the same sort of action, but every chapter is free to make its own decisions, based on the needs of its community. Likewise, every chapter of Food Not Bombs operates on consensus: everybody has an equal say in making decisions. Besides collecting and distributing food for free, most chapters of Food Not Bombs are involved in community anti-poverty, anti-war and pro-immigrant organizing, as well as many other political causes.
Read more about FNB history. |
History of the Los Angeles Chapter
The Los Angeles chapter of Food Not Bombs has been distributing free food every Sunday in Downtown Los Angeles since 1997.
Since its inception, LA FNB had been repeatedly harassed by Pershing Square park rangers and private security during weekly servings until the arrest of one member, Dan DiPaquo, helped to establish LA FNB's rights to serve publicly at the city park.
On Sunday December 19, 1999 at 5PM, the Los Angeles chapter of Food Not Bombs, arrived in Pershing Square as they have for the past two years to distribute free food at their Sunday evening community meal. Upon arrival in the park, the group was
told by both the park manager and park rangers that they must move from
their prominent position in the north end of the park to the less visible
south end of the park. Because a prime objective of Food Not Bombs'
community meals is to raise consciousness and to counter Los Angeles's "out
of sight, out of mind" policy towards the poor, the group deemed it
unacceptable to be pushed to the back of the park and continued to serve at
their normal location. Subsequently Food Not Bombs organizer, Dan
DiPasquo, was arrested by the Pershing Square park rangers and the Los
Angeles Police Department.
Press Release - Los Angeles Food Not Bombs, Monday December 20, 1999
On December 26, 1999, six volunteers from Food Not Bombs were arrested as they attempted to provide free food to the homeless in Pershing Square. The six were arrested after they refused to move from the area where they have served food for the past two years to a less visible part of the park. None of the volunteers were blocking access to any park facility. In addition to the six volunteers arrested that evening, another individual - who was not feeding people and is not a member of Food Not Bombs - was arrested simply for videotaping the actions of officers of the Los Angeles Police Department and Park Rangers in Pershing Square.
News Release - ACLU, Tuesday, January 4, 2000
On January 4th, 2000, the ACLU of Southern California filed a law suit on behalf of LA FNB against the City of Los Angeles, including officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and Recreation and Parks Department, for violating the Civil Rights Act (Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983).
On January 7th, 2000, a temporary restraining order allowed LA FNB to continue to feed on the north end of Pershing Square Park from January 6-10, 2000. Meanwhile, LA FNB and the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, and Los Angeles Police Department entered into negotiations and reached a settlement on January 14, 2000, resulting in the following:
LA FNB may leaflet, speak with members of the public, display banners and signs, serve food to people, eat food, observe, and videotape in all areas of Pershing Square Park that are open to the general public.
Food Not Bombs LA, et al v. Los Angeles city of, et al
There are now three active chapters of Food Not Bombs in Los Angeles including DTLA FNB, NELA FNB, and GuerrilLA FNB, who continue to serve in Pershing Square Park as well as on Skid Row.
|
Why does Los Angeles need Food Not Bombs?
Los Angeles chapters of Food Not Bombs share vegan and vegetarian food with hungry people in the L.A. area. Some are homeless while others are the working poor who have homes but whose labor doesn't provide them with enough to enjoy a basic standard of living. Ours is the richest and most wasteful society on Earth, and we prepare our meals using some of the vast amounts of perfectly edible food that otherwise would go to waste.
Our groups share food because people need it and to call attention to our society's failure to provide food and housing to each of its members. We do this in public spaces, such as parks, because we believe that space should be reclaimed for the use of everyone, not just the privileged. We are autonomous activist collectives (not charities) that oppose the poverty, inequality, violence, war and militarism, prejudice and oppression, and environmental destruction that make groups such as ours necessary. We believe in trying to solve problems such as hunger through direct action as much as possible, and without seeking any permission or assistance from government. We do not use any tax money or grants to fund our activities, although we gladly will accept voluntary contributions.
The Los Angeles chapters of Food Not Bombs are part of the informal, international Food Not Bombs movement, and, like all FNB groups, operates according to anarchist principles of equality, consensus, cooperation, non-hierarchy, and mutual aid. |
copyleft