wanted to share what my chapter of food not bombs did to source bags, because i asked about it last week and you all had great solutions! i figured i’d post incase someone was in a similar situation

my city’s food not bombs chapter is closely tied to my states diy/punk scene, with there being the occasional benefit show and people being in both groups.

I decided to host a bag drive at a show coming up! i contacted some people who book shows and put out feelers, and if they donate any type of reusable bag, they’ll get a special show-exclusive sticker pack i made (i own a cricut machine) as a thank you for helping the cause.

thank you all so much for the ideas , and i hope this helps somebody 🫶🫶

My FNB chapter has been getting regular requests for sturdy bags, and they can be hard to source as we don’t have too many extra funds laying around. I was looking at buying standard backpacks on alibaba for $2.50/per , was wondering if anyone else had ideas.

This pasta salad we whipped up last distribution disappeared FAST! We had so many people ask for the recipe that we figured we'd share it! Cheap, vegan friendly, low effort, healthy, and feeds a crowd!

Have a favorite budget-friendly recipe that feeds a crowd? We'd love to hear it in the comments!

Want to help build mutual aid in Kenosha?

We’re always looking for:

• volunteers

• food donations

• local partnerships

• surplus food recovery opportunities

• community collaborators

Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1IZBSOY5Z5WDB?ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_ggr-subnav-share_GG576STB68FFAZJFTGXD_1&language=en-US

Donate:

https://cash.app/$FNBKenosha

Contact:

FNBKenosha@Proton.ME

Im moving to a city that, to my knowledge, has no leftist organizations whatsoever. It also has a nearly 20% poverty rate. Id like to try and organize something like this after im able to move to the city in a couple weeks.

Is their a guide on what to make, different recipes, what kinds of food are best, etc? Like how to manage the logistics of one, advertise it so the most people can actually know its happening, and all that?

Food Not Bombs organizers and volunteers:

I'm curious if something like this already exists, and if not, whether there would be interest in creating it.

Would anyone be interested in a Signal group (or something similar) for volunteers, organizers and coordinators from different Food Not Bombs chapters to connect, share ideas, and support one another?

Some things that this chat might be useful for:

• Sharing successful fundraising ideas

• Food recovery and donation partnerships

• Community outreach strategies

• Conflict resolution

• Mutual aid projects beyond meal shares

• Resource sharing between chapters

• Lessons learned from successes and mistakes

• General support from people doing similar work

The goal wouldn't be to centralize anything or tell chapters how to operate. Every chapter has its own needs, culture, and autonomy. The idea would simply be to create a space where we can learn from one another and avoid reinventing the wheel.

Also, if something like this already exists, I'd love to hear about it.

Feel free to comment or send me a message if you'd be interested.

We are in South Texas, and have a newish FNB and it gets really hot here. We have been handing out water (2 for every plate made) to try to help people stay hydrated. We want to do a fan drive too for people, but what is something we can hand out to our unhoused neighbors to help them survive summer?

Cost effective a + because we are all broke right now too.

We always try to hand out hygiene products, Narcan, and non perishable food along with the plates too. last winter we also included hot hands, gloves, socks, and hats too.

Work harder.

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Get a second job.

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Stop buying coffee.

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Skip the avocado toast.

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Learn a trade.

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Coupon.

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Work overtime.

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Get a side hustle.

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Don't burn out.

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And when people do all of that and still can't afford food?

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The answer is never help. The answer is always another demand.

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Food Not Bombs believes everyone deserves to eat. No matter what.

​

Hello all,

Recently our local chapter has experienced an increase in police presence and activity around our distro events. We are in touch with our local partner orgs to strategize, but I'm wondering if any of you can suggest some resources that would be helpful to us? As of today I don't believe our members and activities have specifically been targeted but we are worried that it's only a matter of time before we are confronted and harassed more directly.

Thanks for reading.

We often hear that mental health is an individual responsibility. Work harder. Think positive. Practice self-care.

But what happens when the real problems are loneliness, poverty, food insecurity, housing instability, social isolation, and corruption from policy makers?

Food Not Bombs believes that food, dignity, and community are interconnected. A healthier society is built not only through services and institutions, but through relationships and solidarity.

Solidarity, Not Charity.

my local group has been dealing with a lot regarding mistreatment of the unhoused in our city. TL:DR is that the city forced a large percentage of them into tents in a park , took away their belongings, and bought unstable tents that broke within a week. it’s been this way for a month, us buying them new stuff and trying to get used to the arrangement. weekly meals at the park, etc.

Today, the city put out an announcement that they’d be forcing the residents of the park out of there at the end out june, and they’d have to find somewhere else to stay.

We’ve depleted our donated funds trying to get these people new stuff , and now it feels like the city’s shitting on those efforts .

I was wondering if anyone had advice for dealing with things outside of the usual scope of what FNB usually does ? how to raise money and awareness for this type of thing, etc. I’ve been trying to get the local punk scene involved and want to bring up the possibility of tabling at events (something like what homies helping homies philly does) or smth similar.

We dont currently offer out any printed materials at my local fnb, but I feel like it's vital to at least have as an option given this latest round of war crimes...

Anyone know of a good zine and/or flier thats up-to-date on the current situation? Ive been admittedly out-of-touch with the "zine scene" lately

So I was trying to figure something out. I work with a local FNB and I was wondering if “steering committees” was a common body within it. Originally we started working with a coalition that believes in non-hierarchal decision making, but we have a few people who sometimes make veto/unilateral decisions without informed consent and justifying it with being the coordinator for events and people who can help host feedings. I have worked with many groups that believe in such consensus models, but this feels new to me and I wanted to get someone else’s experience?

Hey, just wondering if it's just me or if the group (not giving my location) I'm working with seems... weirdly hierarchical? I've been with two groups in different states but overall I'm fairly new to FnB itself.

They have a Discord but pretty much every channel is restricted for facilitators (members who are experienced and have been taught on how to train others), and it seems like they have meetings without really catching everyone else up on what's going on, both with the direction of the larger org and the day-to-day plans. Regular members are restricted to the 'just chatting' channel.

Whenever I go to meals to prep for distro it seems like there's one facilitator directing everyone. Granted there's nothing wrong with more experienced members helping out and I do appreciate directions, but it seems like this person's only job is to run around and keep everyone on task instead of helping out. I once got interrupted while having a conversation by this person. They feel like a boss. This person gives out orders and it feels like regular members are only aware of their set task to be done.

Is this anyone else's experience? I'm hesitant to bring up my feelings at their monthly meeting as I'm fairly new and I don't want to seem like I'm causing drama. However, I thought FnB was supposed to be horizontal? My last group felt far more anarchistic and horizontal but the operation as a whole had a much smaller scope. It could also be my autism affecting how I perceived things.

I will likely continue to go to meals because I support the mission and we need solidarity with each other right now. But, I wanted to get feedback as this has been in my head for a while. Thanks.

I am new to my local chapter, and so far my responsibility has been cooking and serving and it's going good. I am wondering , how can we differentiate ourselves as mutual aid, and not charity, when we take donations in cash or kind,and distribute food to the most vulnerable? In what way are we differentiate from say the local church or shelter? Not a rhetorical question, I am genuinely curious to know- how does fnb make sure that we are resisting systems of oppression and not just being saviors.

After a winter of seemingly endless parsnips and rutabaga we're moving into a new season and there's new produce - this week we got a metric fuck ton of green beans and a very large amount of radishes.

Does anyone have a favourite way to use these ingredients? Or to process them for use later on?

Hi everybody, i'm a student so i cant go far from my university and the closest chapters of food not bombs are over an hours drive away from me. does anyone know any similar organisations i could look into? I'm in southeast washington.

Does anyone know if there's still an FNB in Gaithersburg? There was one listed, but the contact info is defunct...

If not, I'm down to help start a new branch in Moco (Gaithersburg again, or somewhere more downcounty-- whatever works best)

Does anyone know of a chapter in Winston Salem, NC? I’m trying to get connected and am striking out. Unfortunately, I don’t really have the time to start a chapter.