What is Food Not Bombs?
Food Not Bombs is a loose collective of mutual aid & direct action groups across the globe who are united in a shared goal: to protest the systemic violence of war and poverty by feeding the hungry ourselves. We are not a charityโthereโs no division between the folks who serve and the folks we serve food to. Everybody eats!
To quote the official global website:
Food Not Bombs is gaining momentum throughout the world. There are hundreds of autonomous chapters sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty. Food Not Bombs is not a charity. This energetic all volunteer grassroots movement is active throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. For over 30 years the movement has worked to end hunger and has supported actions to stop the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people, end exploitation and the destruction of the earth and its beings.
The first group was formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1980 by anti-nuclear activists. Food Not Bombs is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to nonviolent social change. Food Not Bombs has no formal leaders and strives to include everyone in its decision making process. Each group recovers food that would otherwise be thrown out and makes fresh hot vegan and vegetarian meals that are served outside in public spaces to anyone without restriction. Many Food Not Bombs groups also share groceries and organize other efforts to support their communities. Each independent group also serves free meals at protests and other events.
When a billion people go hungry each day, how can we spend another dollar on war? Food Not Bombs is an all-volunteer movement that recovers food that would otherwise be discarded, and shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,000 cities in 65 countries in protest to war, poverty, and destruction of the environment. We are not a charity but dedicated to taking nonviolent direct action. Our movement has no headquarters or positions of leadership and we use the process of consensus to make decisions. We also provide food and supplies to the survivors of natural disasters, and people participating in occupations, strikes, marches and other protests.
Interested in learning more? Visit the main Food Not Bombs website for highlights and information about the global movement.
About the Indianapolis Food Not Bombs Chapter
The local Indianapolis Food Not Bombs chapter has been serving the Downtown area of Indianapolis for approximately 20 years now, striving to serve a home-cooked vegetarian meal to our neighbors every Sunday without judgement or sermon, grassroots mutual aid style. We set up our tables on the corner of Meridian & St. Clair Street whenever possible, in front of the Central Indianapolis Public Library building and in the same park as the American Legion Mall. If you’re wondering what that looks like, it’s about the area of that red circle below!
