Charity Never
The following essay by Peter Moore sums up the basic philosophy of why Food Not Bombs is not "charity"
Food Not Bombs is not and never will be a charity. The french Queen, Marie Antoinette, tried to stop a revolution by offering rioters at the palace gates cake and pastry. That's charity. Charity ignores and distracts from the causes of poverty and hunger. By throwing spare change into a hat or tithing to a church, the rich and middle class absolve themselves of responsibility for the poor. Yet, the economic institution they thrive on, capitalism, is the same mechanism which reates and institutionalizes poverty.
Charity also originally meant to not judge someone for their situation. However, today's charity is one more club alongside welfare and unemployment insurance used to condemn people as lazy and incapable of helping themselves. Instead of reinforcing the myth of charity, Food Not Bombs enacts the principles of Mutual Aid and Solidarity to raise awareness about the causes of poverty and to rally against government and business attacks on human dignity.
Hunger is perhaps the most terrible effect of poverty. Five million people in Canada live below the poverty line. That's almost 20% of the population! With unemployment rates for young people running between 15% to 19%, we are bearing the brunt of poverty alongside women, the disabled and minorities. When we apply the principles of Solidarity and Mutual Aid, we understand that we all have the same basic need - a roof, clothing, work and food. It's the recognition that as soon as one person is denied these necessities, inequality is created and social injustice is perpetuated. From this awareness comes the rational and passionate desire to free all people and work together for equality and economic justice!
Mutual Aid is the concrete enactment of solidarity. With every serving, we demystify for ourselves and the public that poor people are bad people. Every serving proves to the government and business sector that nutrition is as necessary as healthcare and welfare cheques.
By distributing food that wasn't pretty enough to sell, Food Not Bombs rips off the pretty face of consumerism to reveal the waste it creates. To make food into commodity is to deny food to those who need it most. With every serving, FNB calls for economic justice and the satisfaction of human needs as an international priority for all people.
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