 | COOKING for
PEACE Cultivating Community, Reaping Revolution Preface Page 4 The joy of sharing free food with the hungry has inspired volunteers to overcome the obstacles of personal poverty and bureaucracy. The dream of a world at peace with abundance can seem within reach while doing the work of Food Not Bombs. Food Not Bombs is an antidote to the sense of hopelessness that many people can feel with the magnitude of today's economic, political and environmental crisis. The joy of sharing food and working for social change is an inspiration for volunteers around the world. Both volunteers and the people that depend on our food have expressed that Food Not Bombs has changed their lives. The three principles of Food Not Bombs provide our strength and make it possible for people to organize local chapters in a variety of cultures and economic situations. In particular, most social movements that start in the United States are quickly crushed or co-opted by corporate interests or the government, but this has not happened with Food Not Bombs. Our decentralized, nonhierarchical structure and use of consensus for direct democracy has protected Food Not Bombs from co-optation. The founders of Food Not Bombs thought that there might be a way to encourage the public to seek an end to war and poverty, with a living theater and mutual aid on the streets. No lengthy theories and long winded speeches to bore the public. We also made sure there would never be any charismatic leaders for the authorities to discredit or leadership for them to replace. Food Not Bombs is about action, reliability, respect, trust and relationships in the community. We are about making sure everyone is free to express their best self and has the food, clothing, healthcare and housing they deserve. In short, we were searching for a way to reach a public unfamiliar with alternative ways of organizing society and of relating to our fellow animal and human beings. Every bowl of free food that a Food Not Bombs volunteer shares with their community is a step in that direction. |
