Recipes for Disaster: an anarchist cookbook

There are also a few things you don't need to start a Food Not Bombs.

Let's start with an understanding of and agreement with the three principles of Food Not Bombs. Although there is no central office or board of directors of Food Not Bombs, all the groups adhere to three basic principles?Consensus, Non-Violence, and Vegetarianism. Consensus is another way of saying non-hierarchical organizing, which is in itself a way of saying anarchism. Food Not Bombs is not a charity with "us" giving food to "them"; as an anarchist organization, part of its purpose is to provide people the means to effect change in their own lives, and to break through the barriers of class, race, gender, age, ethnicity, and all other artificial boundaries that keep people separated from one another. It is an opportunity for people to decide for themselves how much they want to be involved; the power in Food Not Bombs lies with the people who choose to use it, within the framework of group consensus.

Food Not Bombs is a practical hands-on protest against the violence of poverty and hunger. An empty stomach is as painful as a punch in the stomach; chronic hunger is as damaging, both physically and psychologically, as any other form of torture. Poverty and hunger shorten lives, drive people into addiction, eat away at pride and self-reliance. In some parts of the world?notably San Francisco, where thousands of people have been arrested over the last decade for the simple act of serving food in Golden Gate Park? Food Not Bombs is met with violence and repression. The typical Food Not Bombs reaction is simply to keep serving, with backup food if necessary. Food Not Bombs is based on direct action, not coercion; when it is met with coercion, it takes action.

Food Not Bombs meals are always vegetarian and often vegan. There are several reasons for this. The production of meat is an inherently violent process and therefore

Instructions

You can approach any restaurant or supermarket, presenting yourself as a representative of a charity organization, and asi<to make use of their leftovers. Try this twice at each establishment, once with the management and once with the workforce.

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Figure out which trees and bushes around your town produce edible treats, so you can feast from the vine. Exchange this information with others, distributing maps if need be?make sure not a single blackberry or pear goes to waste.

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runs counter to the Food Not Bombs philosophy of non-violence; vegetarian meals like the ones cooked at Food Not Bombs are healthier than meat-based meals, and serve as a vivid demonstration that meat is not an essential ingredient; vegetarian meals are less expensive than meat-centered meals, so resources can be stretched further; and meals prepared without animal products are safer and less prone to spoiling.

If you can agree to these principles you are ready to start your ovm Food Not Bombs. What else do you need?

A place and time to cook. Food Not Bombs meals are cooked in all sorts of kitchens, from punk houses to churches to community centers to mobile propane ranges. A public kitchen in a church or community center is ideal if you have one available, not only because it is probably already outfitted with the institutional-sized pots and pans you will need for cooking in quantity, but because a wider variety of people may feel more comfortable cooking in a neutral setting than they would in a private home. Whatever kind of place you cook, make sure you choose a place that has some permanence (and, if it's in a house, that all the house members agree to let Food Not Bombs use the kitchen); try to find a place that is accessible to people with disabilities. Allow a minimum of an hour and a half for cooking.

A place and time to serve. This may take a little experimenting before you get it right. Start by finding out when and where other groups serve meals in your community so you are not duplicating efforts?one way to do that is to go eat at a local soup kitchen and simply ask the people eating there where else they eat and if they have any recommendations about when and where you should serve. In most communities. Food Not Bombs serves outside and often in highly visible locations?^both to make the meals easy for people to find, and to make unavoidable tlie points that hunger exists in America and that people can be fed. In addition to regular, consistent servings, Food Not Bombs groups often make themselves available to serve food at conferences, protests, and other special events.