Hello from the initial members of the Manchester Food Not Bombs collective. We write to you in the spirit of solidarity to tell you about our activities and ask for your feedback, opinions and assistance.
Food Not Bombs is a global nework of groups who aim to fulfil the dual functions of making hot, otherwise wasted food available to people in the local community while providing information about local campaigns for peace and social justice.
Founded in America, the groups collect unwanted food from local shops to prepare and distibute to local people on their street based tables while giving out flyers and pamphlets about local campaigns. We aim to do a similar thing in Manchester but slightly more appropriate to our own context.
We want to work together to help publicise anti-deportation campaigns and asylum seeker defence and other social and environmental issues in the South and Central Manchester area while providing free food prepared by volunteers. Tied into ideas about food production and distribution, waste and recycling and critiques of consumerism, we want to make our activities focal points for the community, where people can come and volunteer, meet other local people, and eat healthy, nutritious food together (by the way, all our food will be completely vegan).
We will be mostly operating in the Rusholme area, as this is where most of us live, with the occasional trip into the city centre. At the moment we are looking to organise 2 sessions in September and then weekly events in October as our primary experiments, to see how well the servings are recieved. We also want to provide food at demonstrations and marches, to keep people warm and strong, particularly in the forthcoming cold winter months!
Please email the address below if you would like to get involved or offer any sort of help to us.
foodnotbombsmanchester@hotmail.co.uk
We are NOT affiliated with any religion, or any political party. We dont believe in the liberal doctrine of charity, and though we take the name Food Not Bombs we represent ourselves and ourselves only, no other FNB group shall speak for us or us for them.
Manchester Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a global nework of groups who aim to fulfil the dual functions of making hot, otherwise wasted food available to people in the local community while providing information about local campaigns for peace and social justice.
Founded in America, the groups collect unwanted food from local shops to prepare and distibute to local people on their street based tables while giving out flyers and pamphlets about local campaigns. We aim to do a similar thing in Manchester but slightly more appropriate to our own context.
We want to work together to help publicise anti-deportation campaigns and asylum seeker defence and other social and environmental issues in the South and Central Manchester area while providing free food prepared by volunteers. Tied into ideas about food production and distribution, waste and recycling and critiques of consumerism, we want to make our activities focal points for the community, where people can come and volunteer, meet other local people, and eat healthy, nutritious food together (by the way, all our food will be completely vegan).
We will be mostly operating in the Rusholme area, as this is where most of us live, with the occasional trip into the city centre. At the moment we are looking to organise 2 sessions in September and then weekly events in October as our primary experiments, to see how well the servings are recieved. We also want to provide food at demonstrations and marches, to keep people warm and strong, particularly in the forthcoming cold winter months!
Please email the address below if you would like to get involved or offer any sort of help to us.
foodnotbombsmanchester@hotmail.co.uk We are NOT affiliated with any religion, or any political party. We dont believe in the liberal doctrine of charity, and though we take the name Food Not Bombs we represent ourselves and ourselves only, no other FNB group shall speak for us or us for them.
Manchester Food Not Bombs
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14.08.2007 21:22
Ben the Bomb
Ben
14.08.2007 23:33
The relation with bombs is a reference to the fact that Western governments consistently choose to fund war undertaken by themselves in other countries and protect the arms trade that fuels conflicts in the developing world, rather than using these resources to fund social and anti-poverty measures in their home countries and aid and development (though this is a controversial concept) in the global South.
Within Manchester certain communities are ignored while the government ploughs resources into ongoing foreign conflicts. In particular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been heavily funded while those who flee from these countries to the UK are subjected to detention, substandard accommodation and threatened with destitution.
Food Not Bombs is an attempt to highlight these issues and a chance for local groups to publicise their activities while reallocating resources to be found within communities to those who may need them most.
As mentioned the name comes from the network of similar groups that are found predominantly in North America but also exist in other countries across the world. FNB groups in the States have been coming under severe repression, volunteers arrested and jailed, in recent times because their activities make visible those sections of society that the government wants to remain invisible and ignored.
The circumstances in the UK are slightly different, welfare and social security provision is stronger and there are substantially less rough sleepers and homeless immigrants, but the need for collective action over certain issues remains.
Agreed the name might be confusing as the network is not as well known here as in the States, but maybe do some research before asking weirdly accusatory questions eh?
Food Not Bombs Manchester