Food is a right, not a privilege
For the past 28 years Food Not Bombs has been feeding people in hundreds of communities all over the world absolutely free of charge and without restriction. Food Not Bombs has no paid staff and is an all volunteer movement. Our volunteers are dedicated to the principles of nonviolence, providing free vegetarian food and literature to anyone without restriction. Each group is autonomous, has no leaders and strives to make decisions by consensus.
Howard Zinn on FNB:
Those three words "say it all. " They point unerringly to the double challenge: to feed immediately people who are without adequate food, and to replace a system whose priorities are power and profit with one meeting the needs of all human beings.
In Tacoma, we currently host two feeds each month with a desire to continue growing. Tacoma Food Not Bombs works with local businesses and farmers to provide fresh and nutritious food to members of our community absolutely free of charge. We are always seeking new volunteers; if you are interested in helping, please feel free to contact us.
Food Not Bombs Philosophy of Nonviolence
Nonviolence in Theory
Nonviolence means responding to situations of injustice with action. The key to nonviolence is the ability to see the potential violence in a situation before it becomes violent and to act to de-escalate that potential. If we cannot stop it from happening, we can at least work to minimize the effects.
It is extremely important that we act in a manner which is consistent with our values. It is never in our interest to use violence against the police or others. On the practical side, they usually can muster significantly more violent force than we could. But, more philosophically, we don't want to use power to dominate in our efforts for social change. We want to create a society based upon human rights and human needs; not the threat and use of violence. We do not want to dominate; we want to seek the truth and to support each other as we resolve conflicts without violence.
Even the food we chose to serve is an expression of our commitment to nonviolence. We try to avoid using any animal products, because we see the damage it does not only to the animal but to ourselves, the environment, and the economy. Mainstream food production is an inherently violent process, involving the slaughter of millions of animals and the poisoning of our air, water, soil, and bodies with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The meat and dairy industries control government policies that primarily serve their own financial interests and not those of the public.
Nonviolence in Practice
As an organization, we strive to be very inclusive. There is room for all progressive political perspectives and for everyone to express themselves. For some, the decision to work for food, not bombs, is a total change in lifestyle. For others, the decision is expressed through a commitment to life affirming values while continuing to work at a job for pay in mainstream society. We try to value individuals for the contribution they offer, without any expectation that they be completely divorced from the status quo.
Our world is multicultural, and social and political structures need to be sensitive to this reality. Challenging racism, classism, gender bias, homophobia, and other oppressive behaviors is essential to creating a life-affirming, self-sustaining world. Everyone needs to be engaged in multicultural work, and this includes the members of Food Not Bombs as well as those with whom we come in contact, both on the street and within the other service and political organizations with which we work.
One of the unique ways in which Food Not Bombs engages in multicultural work is the creation of ways to share access to resources. Members identify and obtain food the wider community needs. We provide an example of how a small group of people with limited economic resources can make a big difference in the quality of life for many people by organizing and recovering a waste product of the existing society. It is our hope that the redistribution of resources other than food becomes an activity that is taken on by an increasingly larger number of people. After all, we are the people we are trying to serve.
Feeds
We serve two Tuesdays a month at 5 pm at the Tacoma Ave. Shelter (formerly the Martin Luther King Jr. Shelter) on Court E between S. 11th and S. 13th streets, downtown.