Support our campaign to rescind all laws restricting compassion.
FOOD IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE
Sharing food with the hungry is an unregulated act of kindness.
ARRESTS COULD START IN PHILADELPHIA ON FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2012
HOUSTON COULD START ARRESTS IN JULY
"I wholeheartedly support the action to protest laws against sharing food!"
Dr. Cornel West - author and professor Princeton University
"THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO GIVE OUT FOOD, THERE IS ONLY GIVING OUT ALL THE FOOD YOU CAN"
Kathy Mitro who posted a petition on line after being threatened with arrest for sharing food in Daytona Beach. Florida in January 2012
More than 46.4 Million Americans had to rely on food stamps in March 2012 yet many cities are banning the sharing of food with the hungry in public. Many people depend on outdoor meals to survive. Some people report that they had been turned away from local soup kitchens and have not eaten in days. Hunger is also on the increase in around the world. Food Not Bombs volunteers and local church groups facing arrest in Philadelphia starting this Friday, June 8, 2012. Houston is set to arrest our volunteers this July. Food Not Bombs volunteers are also being arrested for sharing meals in Minsk, Belarus.
Food Not Bombs started to hear of people being threatened with arrest for sharing meals in public in January, first from a good hearted woman, Kathy Mitro who was stopped donating sandwiches to the hungry in Dayton Beach. before long we heard from people in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Dallas and Myrtle Beach. The mayor of New York banned home cooked meals from all city food programs. Maybe most shocking was news that the mayors of Philadelphia and Houston planned to introduce laws that would make the work of Food Not Bombs a crime. We also started to receive news that our volunteers in Minsk, Belarus were being arrested and pressured by the KGB into becoming informants. (See link to publication below)
We organized a global day of protest on April 1, 2012 to start our campaign to remind the public and authorities that sharing free food with the hungry in public is an unregulated activity. Many people endorsed the campaign and people organized meals of support in communities all over the world. We had hoped our message would be considered and plans to criminalize the sharing of meals in public would be abandoned.
Our campaign continues. Consider risking arrest or providing support in Philadelphia or Houston. Organizing a meal of support in your community. Invite the local media to your event. Email us news and photos of your action. We plan to discuss additional plans for this urgent campaign at the Food Not Bombs World Gathering in Tampa this August. Everyone is invited. Compassion is an unregulated activity that should be encouraged.
FOOD IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE
P.O. Box 424 - Arroyo Seco, NM 87514 USA
1-800-884-1136
menu@foodnotbombs.net
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/food_is_a_right.html
WHY DO WE HAVE A CAMPAIGN AND BILL OF RIGHTS
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/food is a right campaign of compassion flyer.pdf
TEMPLATE FOR A MEAL OF SUPPORT IN YOUR COMMUNITY
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/food_is_a_right_flyer.pdf
THE ARRESTS OF MINSK FOOD NOT BOMBS
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/belarus_arrests.pdf
TWO OPINION ARTICLES AGAINST THE SHARING OF FOOD IN PUBLIC
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/Beyond public park feedings.pdf
FOOD NOT BOMBS WORLD GATHERING - TAMPA, FLORIDA August 20 - 26, 2012
http://www.foodnotbombs.net/gatherings.html
Charitable Group Offers to Pay Your Fines if You Ignore Philly’s New Ban on Feeding the Homeless
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/charitable-group-offers-to-pay-your-fines-if-you-ignore-phillys-new-ban-on-feeding-the-homeless/
Philadelphia’s new law banning “all outdoor feedings of large numbers of people on City parkland” goes into effect Friday, according CBS Philly, and some charitable groups have elected to ignore it.
“I encourage every church, every organization, every individual that has been serving on the Parkway to continue serving on the Parkway, despite this law that is going into effect,” said Altressa Boatwright, operations manager for Chosen 300, a charitable organization which has proudly served Philadelphia’s homeless community for years with “outdoor feedings.”
But why would the city pass a ban on charitable giving?
According to proponents of the bill, including Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, the new law will “protect the dignity of the homeless, cleanliness of the parks, and eliminate food health concerns.” However, dozens of opponents of the law testified at a hearing on Thursday and said the reasoning behind the ban was bunko.
“These regulations are clearly designated not with the intent of protecting the health and dignity of the homeless, but are designed to tuck the homeless in a corner and pretend that the problem does not exist in our city,” Reverend Brian Jenkins of Chosen 300 Ministries said.
The group has established a fund to help anyone fined for breaking the “outdoor feeding” ban, philly.com reports.
“The people are the number one resources of this city, not the Barnes Museum,” said Philadelphia homeless advocate Erike Younge. “Feeding people and serving the needs of the people is a fundamental right. And to ban it or to oppose it and not to work to solve this problem is unconstitutional and inhumane.”
City Begins Enforcement Of Ban On Outdoor Feeding Programs
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/06/01/city-begins-enforcement-of-ban-on-outdoor-feeding-programs/
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The law banning all outdoor feedings of large numbers of people on City parkland went into effect on Friday.
Mayor Michael Nutter has said the ban will protect the dignity of the homeless, cleanliness of the parks, and eliminate food health concerns. But dozens of opponents testified at a City Council Committee hearing on Thursday, calling the Mayor’s reasons for the ban misleading.
“These regulations are clearly designated not with the intent of protecting the health and dignity of the homeless, but are designed to tuck the homeless in a corner and pretend that the problem does not exist in our city,” said Reverend Brian Jenkins of Chosen 300 Ministries.
For years, the group has held feedings for the homeless along the Ben Franklin Parkway.
“The people are the number one resources of this city, not the Barnes Museum,” said Erike Younge, writer at the One Step Away, a newspaper which represents the voice of the city’s homeless. “Feeding people and serving the needs of the people is a fundamental right. And to ban it or to oppose it and not to work to solve this problem is unconstitutional and inhumane.”
Students from The Mathematics Civics and Sciences Charter School testified about their weekly feedings on the Parkway. They said the students raise $500 to $1000 each week for food and toiletries for hundreds of homeless near Ben Franklin Parkway.
“The food we distribute is prepared in our school cafeteria in the same manner and under the same conditions as the food that is served to the students,” said Gregory Dooley. “It is clear to me that the reason that the Mayor has implemented this new directive is that he does not like the way large groups of homeless people and the public looks to visitors and more affluent residents.”
The ban applies to the Fairmount Park system, which includes Love Park and the Ben Franklin Parkway. The Nutter Administration did not attend the hearing.
When we make a morally correct action we promote a world filled with peace. We must not let anyone tell us it is a criminal action to feed someone who is hungry by whatever means are available to us. Food is precious and any manner it is handed to another is a gift from one soul to another and can never be made ugly.
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