One of the most obscene lies being touted is that Diablo Food not Bombs is trying to undermine the farmers market by taking money out of the pockets of the local farmers and business owners. The last thing Diablo Food not Bombs wants to do is make the lives of the working poor any harder. Farmers are the keystone of our society and to think that they would try to undermine them is an absurd notion. They want to do everything they can to help them thrive. When they talked about “overpriced vendors” in their previous statement they were talking about vendors there that were serving cooked meals, not the farmers. However, the group is not attacking them either. They simply think that the meals are overpriced and not everyone can afford them. The reason they are overpriced is because of the same bureaucratic expenses they have to go through as well as the economic conditions which makes their food relatively high cost. When they said they were a “threat” to profits, they later expressed that this threat was falsely perceived because the people they were serving cannot afford the vendors’ food in the first place. Even though some people might see them as a “threat” to business interests, they in fact are not at all and any other interpretation of their previous statement is taking it out of context. They sympathize with the farmers need to make money in order to survive and want to give them all the support and gratitude they can for what the farmers do for us. That is why when they serve food at the farmers market they bring plates of food to all the farmers who want to eat! Last Thursday a majority of the farmers took plates from the group and were as grateful to them as they are to the farmers. This is their way of giving back to those that give so much for us. Also because the group is a non-profit, when the farmers make a tax-deductible donation they benefit as well while they help to feed hungry people. When Diablo Food not Bombs serves or collects donations from the farmers they tell them exactly who they are and exactly what they are doing, they do not trick them. They are not taking anything away from the farmers; they are only cooking and serving the excess that would have otherwise been wasted. Besides, over a third of the food produced in this country is never eaten anyway! Any condemnation of farmers is the antithesis of what Diablo Food not Bombs is all about. One of their core tenets is solidarity not charity. Meaning that they stand with and not above those they are assisting.
Diablo Food not Bombs stands in solidarity with all working class and poor people especially during this economic crisis.
The ultimate goal of Diablo Food not Bombs is to make genuine connections and build community. They would argue that many of society’s problems stem from a lack of community cohesion. During this economic crisis everything does in fact become overpriced, especially for homeless, poor and otherwise underprivileged people. They recognize this and are eager to feed anyone who is willing to eat out of their 5-gallon plastic buckets. Feeding their neighbors free food is their way of creating a community with the hungry people of our area that would otherwise be non-existent. What they are trying to do is create a genuine community event and make real human connections that are beyond the framework of purely economic transactions. A genuine community event would be one that includes everybody, not just those with money to spend. With many people from the community gathered in one place they see the Concord Farmers market as an auspicious place to make these ideals of inclusion come to fruition, especially for those who are often over looked or flat out ignored. They would also like to think that that those who facilitate, run or support the farmers market would also want to create a genuine community event inclusive of everyone and not solely be driven by business interest which they do not affect anyway. If this is the case, it is an expression of business interests over the interests of people in the community, which would be very unfortunate. If you read the history, the Todos Santos Park and plaza used to be a fantastic communal space in which anyone could come share in food, festivities and be part of a group. All Diablo Food not Bombs are trying to do is revive these ideas and create a loving and harmonious community in which we care for one another.
Diablo Food not Bombs also wants everyone to know that they have the best of intentions. They are all compassionate people that just want to help those in need. It has been said the they are deliberately interfering with the efforts of Anna Chan aka “The Lemon Lady.” A great community member who collects food for local food pantries. This is completely false. They adore Anna and everything that she does. That is why the group went out of their way to network with Anna told her they are willing to work with her and even offered her excess food they had left over. They are in no way interfering with the efforts of the Lemon Lady. Once they are established, Diablo Food not Bombs plans on working with many benevolent individuals and organizations in the community. They are willing and want to work with other homeless and hunger action and advocacy groups, just like other Food not Bombs chapters do. They wish to support the efforts of anyone who is helping those in need. The members of Diablo Food not Bombs are driven by love, compassion and the will to do something directly for the hungry people in our community.
good for them for responding to all the silly internet accusations. the one i find most annoying is thsoe who claim that food not bombs isnt interested in helping anyone, only in protesting and getting attention. yes, food not bombs is interested in getting attention and protesting poverty. unlike other charity groups, they are not only interested in helping out the poor, but they are also interested in ending poverty. to do this you need to bring attention to poverty and protest against it. (and you have to do a whole lot more too.) bringing attention to the fact that there are people who do not have homes or food to eat and helping those people is not mutually exclusive. they go hand in hand!
i've said it before, look at all the hundreds of food not bombs chapters around the world that feed people who do not get a ton of media attention. if they were only in it to get attention, why would they keep doing what they are doing when they are being ignored?
look at berkeley food not bombs. they serve free food at people's park almost every day. there are no confrontations with the police. there is no media attention. anyone who claims that food not bombs is only interested in getting media attention is either ignorant or an idiot.
good diablo FNB!
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