Hi everyone, Hartford FNB is still active! Anyone and everyone can come to Bushnell Park any Sunday around 3:30 by the carousel near the pond. Absolutely no pressure at all but feel free to cook something vegan and bring it to the park. Looking forward to seeing you out there and bring a mask! Check out our About page and FAQ for more info. #MutualAid
Attack on CT FNB 9 Years Ago Forces Change in State Law
“Despite our indirect role in its passage, our goal was never the statewide legislative reform which ultimately protected our activities and those of other grassroots anti-hunger activists from state intervention,” the statement reads. “Rather, our commitment has always been the to the elimination of structural inequality of which hunger is but a symptom, the abandonment of militarism and to the emergence of voluntary mutual aid as the essential characteristic of our social interactions.”
Atlanta FNB Under Attack
(via Atlanta IndyMedia)
Charges Dropped Against Tampa Bay FNB
TAMPA — Prosecutors will not pursue criminal charges against seven people arrested for refusing to stop feeding the homeless in Lykes Gaslight Square Park.
Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren announced Tuesday that his office would not move forward with the cases stemming from the Jan. 7 arrests. Seven people were given notices to appear in court on trespassing charges after they were warned about violating a city ordinance that requires a permit and insurance policy to distribute food in the way Food Not Bombs has done for years. (full story)
Background on the 7 arrested here
FNB Building Kitchen to Support Standing Rock #NoDAPL
(coastalview.com)
“They are preparing to stay here for the entire winter, so we spent the day building a kitchen that Food Not Bombs is building to feed the Grandmothers council and volunteer workers during the brutal months to come.”
Read more here:
Food Not Bombs Calls for Pretrial Support of Homeless Man
(Tampa) 88.5 WMNF
“… he goes by “Compass,” he was a friend who we at Tampa Food Not Bombs shared food with. And he was beaten by police. He was punched in the face, in the ribs, he was put in handcuffs and then taken down and slammed to the ground multiple times. Charged with resisting arrest with violence and then also the original charge was petty theft. They said that he stole a sandwich from a 7-11.”
Hartford FNB in Need of New Produce Source
Criminalizing Homelessness in South Carolina
Last August, the city of Columbia, South Carolina approved a new plan to give its homeless population an impossible choice: leave downtown or be arrested.
The city is now taking even more steps to criminalize homelessness. On Saturday, it will begin to strictly enforce an old and seldom-used ordinance requiring groups of 25 or more to obtain a permit and pay a hefty fee before congregating in a public park.
One impacted charity that was interviewed by the Free Times, Food Not Bombs, has been serving food to the homeless in Finlay Park every Sunday for 12 years. The group’s organizer, Judith Turnipseed, noted that the group has an impeccable track record and always tidies up after the meal. But with the new crackdown, Food Not Bombs will have to pay at least $120 per week for the right to feed the homeless, an extremely tall order for a group that’s not even an official 501(c)(3) organization but just serves out of the goodness of its heart.
More Attempts to Shutdown FNB
On Sunday afternoons for more than 20 years, volunteers with the nonprofit Food Not Bombs (Sacramento) have passed out free vegetarian meals to hungry, low-income Sacramentans at downtown’s Cesar Chavez Plaza park.
This month, however, city police interrupted the organization’s feedings and informed volunteers that giving away free meals is illegal.
Intelligence Operations Threaten Democracy
(FNB Blog) The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. — The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The national conversation inspired by revelations about the NSA spy program by Ed Snowden is failing to discuss one of the most devastating aspects of the crisis. “Since when did feeding the homeless become a terrorist activity?” asked ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson on May, 18, 2005. “When the FBI and local law enforcement target groups like Food Not Bombs under the guise of fighting terrorism, many Americans who oppose government policies will be discouraged from speaking out and exercising their rights.” Along with discouraging participation in groups like Food Not Bombs but the work and lives of those who do participate are sabotaged using the information covertly collected by government and corporate intelligence operations.
HARTFORD FOOD NOT BOMBS 