Food Not Bombs: volunteers protest violence by feeding people

While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed activity in South Bend, IN’s central business district this spring, it did not deter Food not Bombs SBN from its mission. Every Sunday afternoon, at a table underneath a downtown bridge, volunteers served free vegan and vegetarian food seasoned with a dash of dissent.

Sharing as protest

What does food have to do with bombs? The global collective Food Not Bombs has been sharing food as a form of protest since 1980, when its founders collected and served food to protest war, poverty and the destruction of the environment. The group encourages the redirection of spending for the military to spending for human needs, and it works to reduce food waste. Forty years later, Food not Bombs SBN is one of more than 500 chapters in 60 countries listed on the global group’s website.

The local group took shape in August 2019, when some area activists brainstormed ways to support people who are houseless* or food insecure. After connecting with others doing similar work, they began to provide food along with scarves, clothing and sleeping bags as winter approached.

Serving people

Food not Bombs SBN distributes food downtown. The group first set up at the Morris Civic Auditorium plaza. As temperatures dropped, it moved underneath the bridge near the bus station on South Main Street, where houseless folks and groups that support them are located.

Volunteers gather food from food banks, schools, churches, restaurants and individuals, putting food that would often otherwise be discarded to good use. Monetary donations make possible the purchase of additional food and supplies.

Adjusting to meet challenges

Before the pandemic, five to 10 volunteers typically served meals buffet-style, but the group modified its approach to continue serving safely during the pandemic.

Volunteers prepare and package meals into carryout containers in advance and send just two volunteers to serve. Volunteers wear gloves and masks as they distribute food containers and maintain safe distancing guidelines. The chapter shares resources with other area groups, especially since the onset of the pandemic, including South Bend Mutual Aid, a group with a similar mission and some volunteers in common.

Before the pandemic, Food not Bombs SBN volunteers served 60 to 80 people each Sunday. By mid-April, as the pandemic escalated, they were serving 80 to 100 people at each event.

Unique structure

Food not Bombs SBN operates as a mutual aid group, defined this way:

Mutual aid is people giving each other material support for mutual benefit. It is self-organized, responsive, inclusive, non-hierarchical. It operates outside of the state and tries to resist the systems, hierarchies and oppressive control dynamics of the state and its social services and charities. People take responsibility for caring for each other in the hopes of changing political conditions and building stronger and more resilient social relations and communities.

Following the lead of the Food Not Bombs parent group, the local chapter operates without designated leaders, reaching decisions by consensus after examining member ideas and concerns.

True to this model, group members contributed information for this article and declined individual recognition.

*Reflecting its desire to make all people feel at home in the community whether they live in a house or not, Food not Bombs SBN prefers houseless to homeless

Food not Bombs SBN

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