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Claire Nderagakura (in the middle) with Seabrook Nuclear Power Station in New Hampshire. A Food Not Bombs volunteers at the NON [ PROFIT ] Lawrence Public Library every Monday group of Feigenbaum’s friends vowed to raise funds for from 5:30-6:30pm his legal expenses and started holding bake sales out- side the student union in Harvard Square. That led to the idea of gathering discarded produce and other food items from grocery stores, restaurants, farms and the like, and using it to prepare meals for those in need. The people who started Food Not Bombs shared their first full meal on March 26, 1981, outside the Fed- eral Reserve Bank during the stockholders meeting of the Bank of Boston to protest the exploitation of capital- ism and investment in the nuclear industry. The deci- sion was made early on to make the meals completely vegetarian or vegan because 1) of the safety factor of handling recovered meat and 2) as a protest of animal cruelty and factory farming. Today, Food Not Bombs’ website lists more than 500 chapters, but it’s believed there actually are more than 1,000 chapters in more than 60 countries around the world. There are nearly 500 chapters in cities through- out the United States. The Lawrence chapter of Food Not Bombs started in the late 1980s and, Florez explains, has undergone a handful of incarnations during the years. “There’ve been a few waves,” he says. “I think we’re probably on about our fourth wave right now. A lot of the support we get has come from students at [the Univer- sity of Kansas]. So we’re dependent on how that and Putting a spotlight on war, the rest of our volunteer network sustains itself since poverty and the destruction we’re not sponsored. of the environment, “It’s poor people helping poor people,” he continues. the Food Not Bombs movement “We don’t always have the means, but we seem to get recovers good food headed for the trash by.” by Bob Luder, photos by Steven Hertzog and makes vegetarian and vegan meals Lawrence Food Not Bombs volunteers serve home- for those in need. made vegetarian or vegan meals to approximately 50 to 60 people from 5:30 to 6:30 each and every Monday Lawrence is a town that shows great pride in the and poverty while seeking an end to war and the destruc- evening in front of the Lawrence Public Library. That number of charitable civic organizations in its midst. tion of the environment. number of people served jumps higher during summer There’s one longtime stalwart of the city’s food system “Our motto has always been ‘Solidarity, Not Charity,’ ” months. Volunteers source food from local farms and that’s gone about things in a different way. says local farmer and longtime Food Not Bombs volun- other volunteers, and coordinate with the Sunrise Proj- ect kitchen. On evenings when there’s food left over, In fact, anyone involved with Food Not Bombs insists, teer Pantaleon Florez III. “Food Not Bombs has always volunteers might take it to a winter shelter or even travel first and foremost, that the organization is not a charity. tried to stay away from charity models and all the bureau- to areas where there are homeless conclaves and dis- Rather, it is a collection of volunteers that prepares and cracy that comes with that. We’re giving for the sake of tribute it there. serves free vegetarian or vegan meals to the less fortu- giving. There are 40 million in this country who go to bed nate as a means of protest against the long-held systemic hungry every night, 12 million of them children. That’s Another unique aspect of Food Not Bombs is that it op- capitalization of the federal government, particularly in the who we’re trying to help.” erates without a leadership structure. There is no board area of the military industrial complex. It seeks to inspire Food Not Bombs traces its origins back to May 24, 1980, to answer to, no chapter officers to run ideas or initia- the public to participate in changing society and focus re- in New England when co-founder and Boston resident tives by before proceeding. Chapters are fully autono- sources on solving problems like hunger, homelessness Brian Feigenbaum was arrested for protesting to stop the mous and operate strictly through the work of grass- roots volunteers. 24 AND THE BEAT GOES ON... Here for our customers, It’s that structure that’s allowed a volunteer such as Clare Nderagakura to go from delivering one meal to cooking for large groups to procuring office space and creating her own “community closet” in a short period of time. “I delivered one meal, and I knew I needed to keep things going,” she says. “So I started to cook. I posted on social here for our staff, media and found a group of people willing to come in and help.” Nderagakura says the hard part for her was learning how to cook without using meat. For her community closet, she gathers other items such as toiletries and clothes, and brings many of those items with her on Monday eve- nings to the library. “From Oct. 21 (2020) to Nov. 9 was the time from when here for our community. I started to cook to the time I got an office space,” she says, noting that the leaderless model of the Food Not Bombs organization allowed her the freedom to move that quickly. “I think it’s great that we have a strong core group [of vol- “I hear from people who get meals each week,” Nder- unteers] that’s rooted here along with the mix of young agakura says. “They’re so excited about it. They really college kids,” he says. “[For the future], I just plan to orga- enjoy them. We’re seeing more and more people all the nize more people, organize more cooks. For me, expan- time.” sion is mainly about organizing more people and getting more people involved.” Florez says the Lawrence Food Not Bombs chapter has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic just fine. Through a Florez, a former schoolteacher, says he’s putting together culinary artist grant connected with Rebuilding East Ninth a communal cooking handbook for future volunteers. Street, he was able to procure some personal protective Nderagakura says she sees a community that’s ready for equipment (PPE) and to-go containers for meals to keep more Food Not Bombs. people safe. This helped Food Not Bombs stock enough “People in Lawrence are ready and willing,” she says. “As PPE and to-go containers back in May 2020 to get them long as they know there’s a need out there and what it is, through at least April. (785) 843-7700 / 3430 Iowa St. Lawrence, KS 66046 Lawrence is ready to go.” p www.CrownAutomotive.com 1 80.