While “terrorist watch cause group” may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Food Not Bombs (FNB), a non-violent group that uses creative outlets to protest war, poverty and the destruction of the environment, its radical tendencies might still be what has helped spark the movement.
Keith McHenry, co-founder of FNB, visited Northeastern Illinois’ campus and spoke to students about FNB and sharing how it is quickly becoming the next social change movement. Originally from Boston, FNB now has over 1,000 autonomous chapters on nearly all of the world’s continents.
FNB aims towards bringing the hungry and the non-hungry together, which is done by collecting food from grocery stores, local farms and from donations. The members then prepare it into vegan and vegetarian meals, and hand the food out to the homeless and poverty-stricken.
The group is based on four basic principles: 1. Always cook vegan or vegetarian; 2. There is no leader—the group must be run by a consensus; 3. No one can be turned away from joining the group; and 4. The group is free to all.
FNB has certainly been through some rough spots, and continues to today. McHenry has been arrest over a hundred times, but hasn’t given up. During his recent visit to Orlando, Florida, McHenry said that when people were given food, they stated that they had not eaten in five days. Through these types of distressing encounters, he believes that there are too many forgotten people who are homeless and hungry in the world, and they shouldn’t be ignored any longer.
FNB is now in over 1,000 cities and continues to grow every day. For anyone who is interested in learning more, or on how to start an FNB chapter, information can be found at foodnotbombs.net.