Abe Bobman of Middletown Food Not Bombs discusses food activism and their recent battle with the health department.

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For updates on recent developments in the Food Not Bombs conflict with the Middletown Health Department, check out the Middletown Eye, which has been following the story closely.

Why is a picnic a crime? For over 10 years Food Not Bombs volunteers in Middletown have prepared a free community meal on Sundays and shared it in front of the Buttonwood Tree book store. Read the full story

A man was casually strolling home along a sidewalk in Manhattan after a business meeting. The meeting must have went well for him, for he looked in the windows of electronics stores and high-end clothing stores with a proud smile that said, “I can afford that TV and that suit without a second thought.”  The smile was wiped off of the man’s face, however, when he came across a young boy sitting against the wall of one of the stores.  The boy was clearly beyond any kind of poverty the man had witnessed before, as his muscle and fat had all been broken down and the boy was literally nothing but skin and bones.  It couldn’t have been the boy’s fault that he was in this state. He was simply born into poverty.

The man knew this, he acknowledged it, but something drove him to just keep walking.  Why did the same man who was successful enough to buy anything he saw not care to give a few dollars or some food to the starving boy?  Quite simply put, his decision to not help the boy in need is not only illogical, it is immoral.  But we are all doing the same thing as this man did every single day, and on a much larger scale.  One-third of the world is starving even though we have the power to feed them.

The cost to end world hunger, along with diseases related to hunger and poverty completely would be about $195 billion a year, according to The United Nations. That is a lot of money, almost two hundred billion dollars. When put into context of global spending, however, it is a paltry sum. More money is spent on cigarettes yearly.  The US alone spent over $700 billion on its military last year, and is spending even more this year.  Why are we so quick to spend money for lung cancer and bullets, yet the idea of spending it on helping others is immediately dismissed as some evil socialist thought?  Why are people likely to condemn the man who ignores a hungry child, when they ignore billions of hungry people themselves?

Chapter IX of The United Nation’s charter states that its member states must take both joint and separate action to promote
“…solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems.”  So why, then, do its member states not work together to raise $195 billion to help the world, to promote higher standards of living and help billions of impoverished people. When $195 billion is like pocket change to these countries that spend trillions yearly, they are simply failing their duties and promises to their people.

Think of it conversely, if everybody in the world were already free of poverty and hunger, could it be justified to kill hundreds of
millions of people through starvation and disease to gain a few billion dollars?  If a nation did explicitly kill people for a couple
hundred billions of dollars, would its people not be outraged?  In reality, countries are causing the deaths of millions to save money.

Four hundred million people will starve to death this year.  Some may argue that the impoverished shouldn’t be helped, that they could survive if they simply worked harder, but feeding the hungry is not an evil socialist principle.  In fact, when almost half the world lives off of less than $2 a day generally doing work that wouldn’t even be legal here, it is simply a flaw of capitalism. When 15 million children die of hunger in a year, it is a failure on our own part as humans to have not helped them.

In addition to the lack of money being used to help end hunger, there is a lack of support for direct action against hunger and poverty. Food Not Bombs, an organization that aims to alleviate hunger by sharing food that would have otherwise gone to waste, is being attacked by the both the state of Connecticut as well as closed-minded citizens.  Any non-profit organization that isn’t corrupt doesn’t have enough support for helping the impoverished overseas.  Many people are unfortunately too busy debating trivial issues that the media spoon-feeds them to take a step back, see the big picture, and create change where it is possible. During this recession, it is hard enough to support oneself, devoting time to helping those around you and overseas can be tough. However, it is necessary for us to try.

When our countries do not provide adequate aid to others despite it being so simple, so attainable, they are failing their duty.  If we do not fight our nation’s inaction, then we are failing our responsibility as citizens of a democratic nation.  If we do not help
others because of greed or laziness, then we are failing our responsibility as fellow human beings.

Since you don’t have $195 billion in your pocket, get out there and help people hands-on.  Help Food Not Bombs groups all over Connecticut that have operated for over a decade continue to share food. Volunteer somewhere.  Share a meal with that homeless person that everyone else looks at with disdain.  Get active, it’s your utmost responsibility.

Tuesday’s Middletown Food Not Bombs appeal hearing at the Dept. of Public Health and the breakfast/demonstration on the street beforehand was covered in CT News Junkie and on the Hartford Courant’s front page Wednesday. (I’m wondering why the Courant puts “sharing” in scare quotes in nearly every article they write about FNB. Anyone have ideas on that?) Read the full story

The latest in a series of battles between public health officials and Food Not Bombs happens tomorrow, August 11, at the Department of Public Health, 410 Capitol Avenue in Hartford.  Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, members of Food Not Bombs learned that the DPH has specifically targeted Food Not Bombs chapters across the state with the aim of disrupting or stopping them completely.  Food Not Bombs is a loosely organized, national grassroots food distribution network that provides free, weekly vegetarian meals to anyone who wants to eat.  Read the full story

After a series of crackdowns by Middletown officials against Middletown Food Not Bombs, the food activists are going on the offensive.  Today, FNB filed a federal injunction that would halt a cease and desist order which bars the group from meal-sharing activities unless food is prepared in a Health Department registered kitchen.   The target of the injunction is both the city of Middletown and the state of Connecticut.   According to the FNB press release, the cease and desist order also applies to “political” activities as well.  And, in a lawsuit filed on Friday, FNB argues that attempts to stop FNB’s public meals infringe on the group’s constitutional rights and has a chilling effect on such activities elsewhere.  Read the full story

(Middletown Eye) “It’s an opportunity to cooperate with another community group,” Wesleyan student and Food Not Bombs member Abe Bobman said about the group’s decision to accept the help of Middletown’s First Church. “And it’s an opportunity that’s too good to miss.” (more…)

Photo credit: Ed McKeon, Middletown Eye

Audio clips:  

The ongoing conflict between the Middletown Health Department and the Middletown chapter of Food Not Bombs came to a head on April 26. Read the full story

Tonight, I along with two other people who are involved in Food Not Bombs in Hartford, went to speak to some high school kids as part of Learning to Repair the World, a program sponsored by the Charter Oak Cultural Center and HartBeat Ensemble. The young people in the program have discussions with community members about social justice topics and then make a play about it. (The play will be performed on Thursday, April 23 – more details here.)

I was struck by these students as they took part in our discussion, which covered issues of poverty, homelessness, hunger, and the problems inherent in a capitalist society. I found that these students, who ranged in age from around 13 to 17, had a pretty sophisticated awareness of things. For example, the youngest of the group at one point made a concession to the media’s influence on her thinking and presented an even-headed reason as to why people get trapped in poverty.

I guess it was not so much the answers themselves, but also the open-minded and thoughtful way that they approached new ideas that impressed me. The questions they raised about decision-making in a way that does not promote majority rule, for instance, were really valid points; so were their questions about how representation in an anarchist system would be different than representation in the system we have now.

Anyway that is just my piece of commentary for today – I’m feeling optimistic about the possibilities of education. Having a small discussion like this was really cool. And I was wondering do you feel like kids these days have a more sophisticated understanding of things these days? I for one feel like these three kids knew a whole lot more than I did at that age.