Though appearances may be to the contrary, activist life does still thrive outside of protests. Protests generally attract the most attention, but there are other aspects of activism that are at least as important to this whole changing the world thing.
My quest for such aspects most recently brought me to the doorstep of Food Not Bombs. In 1980, a group of anti-nuclear activists founded the first chapter of Food Not Bombs in Cambridge, Mass. It has since grown to over 175 autonomous chapters, with the Web site billing it as "one of the fastest growing revolutionary movements active in North America today."
But back to that doorstep. I arrived at 11:20 a.m. Saturday at the door of "fearless leader" Katie, as Dan called her. Katie, Dan, Beth and several other volunteers make up Albuquerque's chapter of this revolutionary movement.
I got there just as the cooking was wrapping up. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches were being made, the background noise was supplied by the blender mixing chickpeas and red peppers for hummus and the scent of vegetable noodle soup filled the house for this all-vegan fair.
Next stop was their noon serving spot, the Triangle Park by 14th Street and Central Avenue. On the way over, we chatted a little on the subject of just what Food Not Bombs is all about. As Katie put it, "A big part of it is just getting people fed." And Food Not Bombs feeds quite an assortment of people, from street kids to Vietnam veterans to protesters.
The food comes from three primary sources - donations from the Fano Bread Company, the Monta§ita Food Co-op, and Dumpster diving.
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I asked them if it was okay for me to mention the Dumpster diving, and they said go ahead, they're proud of it. According to Katie, it's actually a big part of Food Not Bombs, because "so much food gets wasted." Food Not Bombs gathers up the bags and boxes of perfectly good food thrown out by businesses and puts them to good use.
At the park, while Katie and Dan got to work setting up, Beth went around inviting everyone to lunch. Folks drifted over slowly, grabbed a bite and shared stories and words of wisdom or just went their way.
Then, off to Roosevelt Park, the 1 p.m. serving spot. The scene was a little mellower there. We were joined for a little while by ArtSpoke, which had just finished rehearsing some guerilla theater.
While we were there, Katie, Dan and Beth busted out the amazing portable three basin wash station. Having done my share of time in campus dining dishrooms, I found it pretty incredible that they actually managed to follow the health code system on the road. Not to mention washing dishes with Food Not Bombs was a lot more fun than washing dishes for Sodexho-Marriott ever was.
Finally, we packed up the equipment and headed back to home base. On the way, I asked everyone how they had gotten into Food Not Bombs. Katie said that while she was traveling about a year ago, she got involved with Food Not Bombs in Oregon. The Albuquerque chapter had fizzled out for a little while, so a couple of months ago Katie decided to put her love of cooking to work and get it going again.
Dan said Katie got him into it. For Beth, Food Not Bombs is a sort of "instant gratification." She said she was sick of just protesting all the time, and wanted to do something that would help people right now.
Which brings me to the part where I get to go off. Obviously, I think protests are great, as far as they go. But the Revolution requires other things, as well. Groups such as Food Not Bombs, with their egalitarian structure and their taking the community's needs into their own hands perhaps form a cell of what a better world might look like.
This particular cell accepts donations, of course - especially kitchen appliances. And, as Beth said, they "are always looking for new recruits." If you'd like more information about Food Not Bombs, contact Katie at 268-0788.
by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo Columnist
