Food Not Bombs drops into Blair with a bang

Mix three cups of compassion with two cups of education, and stir thoroughly. Add one tablespoon of vegetarian practices, and sprinkle in a pinch of consensus decision-making. Simmer for 22 years and you have Food Not Bombs, an organization created by C.T. Butler and Keith McHenry to address the issues of hunger and skewed political priorities.

According to Butler and McHenry's book, Food Not Bombs, the U.S. throws away 50 billion pounds of food annually, one-tenth of which would end hunger in this country. Food Not Bombs, which exists in more than 175 communities internationally, works to salvage otherwise-discarded food and serve vegetarian meals to the hungry. Adding to the growing movement, seniors Eryn Trimmer and Mia Ballard and junior Orion Peter are initiating a chapter in the Washington, D.C., area that will involve many Blair students.

For senior Jessica Valoris, the motivation to become involved in Food Not Bombs came from her drive to influence change and make a significant difference. "I don't want to sit on my privileged butt not doing anything," Valoris explains.

More than a free meal

Food Not Bombs stretches beyond soup and sandwiches and aims to dig deep into the causes of homelessness. The organization raises awareness about government policies it feels are counterproductive. "Food Not Bombs was never a charity or a feed-the-hungry group," says Butler, co-founder of the organization. "We do that, but ultimately we work to solve the problems we see."

In addition to feeding the needy, Food Not Bombs donates food to political organizations and serves meals to hungry protestors. It spreads its message by working with groups like Earth First! and Homes Not Jails and by distributing political literature with the meals they serve.

Butler, who estimates he's helped serve about half a million meals, describe mixed emotions that come with his work. "Men, women, children come up to you and say, ‘Thank you so much, this is the first meal I've had today.' You see the look in their eyes and feel their gratitude," Butler says. "At first you feel great because of what you've done, and then you feel outraged that we live in a place where this could be allowed to happen."

Several times people have recognized Butler years after receiving a meal and expressed immense gratitude for Food Not Bombs. "A young person will come up to me and give me a $20 bill and say, ‘I was a runaway teen and I had no place to go and you guys fed me and respected me, and that changed my life,'" Butler says.

While the recipients of the meals appreciate the gesture, the police often do not. The San Francisco chapter alone has faced more than 1,000 arrests because of their continued attempt to challenge the mayor's policies towards homelessness.

The structure of freedom

Although Food Not Bombs exists throughout the world, there is no head of the organization, nor are there regulations for individual chapters. Instead, a decentralized, nonhierarchical structure has allowed Food Not Bombs to exist as an underground leftist movement.

Adhering to the concept of self-empowerment, chapters make decisions by consensus, not by voting. Butler, who co-wrote On Conflict and Consensus, says this method of decision-making allows everyone to work together to identify the best solution for the group.

The organization's loose structure allows for each chapter to decide the direction and goals of their own Food Not Bombs. The new Washington, D.C., chapter plans to make learning a central mission. "We want to educate ourselves as well as the people we feed," says Trimmer.

Peter says the group plans to view and discuss relevant films and research issues that interest participants. He sees Food Not Bombs as a way to teach the reasons behind the problems that exist today. "It's our hope that through Food Not Bombs, people will learn about some of the governmental causes of homelessness and hunger," Peter says.

Ballard, Trimmer and Peter stress that everyone is welcome to participate, and not as a leader or a follower. "We want everyone to take an equal, active role," Peter says.

To get involved with Food Not Bombs, contact the organization via email at foodnotbombsdc@yahoo.com