York City August 25-27th. Planned to precede protests against the
Republican National Convention, the Food Not Bombs International Gathering
will host activists from one of the world’s largest revolutionary
movements for three days of workshops, spokescouncils, skill shares,
foodsharing and discussion on the future direction of the movement.
Since its inception in 1980, FNB has grown from one chapter to more than
300 groups all over the world who are organizing against war and
militarization by cooking and serving free meals in their communities with
the idea that the billions of dollars wasted on military spending should
instead be used to nourish the hungry. An autonomous movement, FNB
chapters engage in various projects in their communities from fighting
against poverty, gentrification and governmental immigration policies to
organizing against the war on Iraq. One hope to come from this gathering
is that FNB chapters will be better informed of what other groups are
accomplishing in other parts of the world.
regime unloads billions of taxpayer dollars into the occupation of Iraq
while severely cutting back on domestic social spending. That’s why the
gathering is occurring before the RNC: to take direct opposition to the
policies of the U.S. government and to provide alternatives.
Organizers are expecting quite a large turnout since this will be the
first gathering of its kind. There have been regional and national FNB
gathering over the years, most recently in Knoxville TN, USA. Organizers
are in the primary stages of planning the event by contacting FNB'ers and
spreading the word. Organizers are interested in hearing from other FNB
chapters what they would like to get out of an international gathering and
what they can contribute.
Some working groups have been established to lay the groundwork for the
gathering. Most importantly, the gathering needs space in New York City
for workshops and for people to stay. Also, organizers are looking for
help to bring in FNBers who cannot afford to travel to NYC.
If you would like to get involved in this effort or donate resources,
please join our general mailing
list for more information on how to get involved.