Vegetarian food to the masses!
Under the guise of false food safety concerns, the mayor of Lancaster, California tried to criminalize free food sharing in that city.
People rose up at the City Council hearing, forcing an indefinite postponement of the vote on the proposed ordinance.
Read more in this LA Times article: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-14/lancaster-homeless-feeding-ban.
From 09/25/2019:
Wednesday is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. FNB arrived in full glory with the new black and yellow banner that is strikingly visible and beautifully painted!
This weeks serving was no less than five courses, with an unbelievably delicious fruit bread desert thingy (I was lucky enough to have two servings!) People from all walks of life came up and chatted and shared their appreciation and stories.
Also, across the street USF students were serving free food! Their serving starts at 6 PM and is run by volunteers from an on-campus club that wants to make change in the community. They were less sociable and noticeably on edge when I approached – clearly they have limited experience with the “disenfranchised” public. It was strange to see the juxtaposition between their serving and the Food Not Bombs one.
With the USF students I felt like a less-than-equal recipient of philanthropic leftovers. The forced politeness and shifting posture signaled a lack of interest in interacting. However, their hearts were in the right place and I’m going to try to help spread the word to others about the free food.
Hopefully, over time the students will feel more at home in the Plaza, and less nervous about the regular folks that approach to chat.
the Food not Bombs serving was a smashing success, and it was great to have flyers to pass out. The cooks really outdid themselves once again! Looking forward to next week 🙂
Hot off the press, get your today! Here is a printable 6-image page to spread the word ^_^
9/18/19
There was a strange sight at the 16th and Mission Bart Plaza: MUNI employees, funded by SFMTA public government money (i.e. your tax dollars) were holding up signs like chauffeurs for Oracle.
The rationale? “We are helping people find the Oracle conference and advertising our new express bus.”
It seemed strange to me, as I’ve never seen SFMTA go out of its way to advertise for any large community events. Where were the chauffeurs for Carnivale? The SF Walk Against Rape? Dia De Los Muertos? I don’t even remember seeing MUNI chauffeurs for Pride marches (surely one of San Francisco’s most time-honored events).
It just seemed like a strange mix of government money being used for private advertising. Not surprising, in a city where politicians are so deeply in bed with the tech giants. But also – not acceptable (sorry folks, no apathy here!)
The employees were very nice though, and we chatted about vegetarian food and different types of diets. I like that MUNI has a union to pay drivers fair wages. We need more unions…
MEANWHILE, across the plaza was a glorious food serving! Some people came by with extra dishes that were going to be thrown out from a tech company’s catering abundance. A selfless tech employee and a bookstore staff person volunteered their time to feed the people. It was amazing, spontaneous, and beautiful.
Shortly thereafter, Food Not Bombs showed up to double down on the culinary delights. The end result? Nothing short of an eight course feast at the 16th BART plaza!! Everyone left that night with a full stomache.
At one point the MUNI employees came over to chat, and it was a delight to share good conversation with good food.
It’s amazing to see the good vibes that feeding people can create. And who knows? Maybe one day MUNI employees will do a serving with us 🙂
The northeast 16th/Mission BART Plaza, adjacent to Walgreens, has a strange new 3,900-pound, $4,661 bench, according to Mission Local.
Photo Credit: Julian Mark, Mission Local
The other plaza on the southwest side of the intersection, where SF Food Not Bombs shares food on Wednesdays, did not get any additional benches, even though BART Director Bevan Dufty promised more benches late last year.
Here are a few earlier posts about the removal of six comfortable metal benches from the SW Plaza and their eventual replacement with three smaller, less comfortable concrete ones:
https://sffnb.org/2018/11/05/bart-downgrades-seating-at-16th-street-mission-plaza/
https://sffnb.org/2018/10/11/bart-board-addresses-16th-street-mission-street-bart-plaza/
https://sffnb.org/2018/10/08/bart-removes-benches-from-16th-street-mission-street-plaza/
Contact information: BART Director Bevan Dufty–510-464-6095, bevan.dufty@bart.gov.
Newsrooom By The Bay mentions Food Not Bombs in its article about the displacement of people from the Mission District.
“…Food Not Bombs, a direct action group that gives free vegan meals to the homeless.”
Here is the entire article: http://intercept.newsroombythebaysites.com/569/news/569/
We always need volunteers. More information here: https://sffnb.org/serving-schedule/
https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/federal-court-cities-cannot-criminalize-homelessness/552232/
A federal court ruled on April 1, 2019 it will not review a decision that cities cannot arrest people for sleeping on public property unless they have provided adequate shelter. The case, Martin v. City of Boise, was before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling could still be taken up the U.S. Supreme Court.
An earlier post about Martin v. City of Boise: https://sffnb.org/2018/09/09/court-affirms-right-of-homeless-persons-to-not-be-punished-for-sleeping-in-public/
The article omits Fort Lauderdale Food Not Bombs, which also fought against food sharing bans.
San Francisco Food Not Bombs showed solidarity with Fort Lauderdale Food Not Bombs when it was resisting new laws criminalizing sharing free food. Here are some reminders:
https://sffnb.org/2014/11/14/san-francisco-fnb-stands-in-solidarity-with-fort-lauderdale/
https://sffnb.org/2018/08/27/federal-court-backs-activists-who-feed-homeless-in-fort-lauderdale/
Julian Mark from Mission Local reports that BART will be installing additional benches at the SW 16th/Mission BART Plaza:
“The former District 8 supervisor [BART Director Bevan Dufty] said he caught wind of some concerns that the [ping pong] table was installed instead of more benches, but he stressed that more benches will be coming soon, as fewer benches have — so far — replaced the number that had existed before the plaza was renovated. A ‘new style’ of benches are coming,’ he said.” (https://missionlocal.org/2018/12/ping-pong-table-appears-at-16th-street-bart-plaza-for-the-people/)
Contact information: BART Director Bevan Dufty–510-464-6095, bevan.dufty@bart.gov
Earlier coverage:
https://sffnb.org/2018/11/05/bart-downgrades-seating-at-16th-street-mission-plaza/
https://sffnb.org/2018/10/11/bart-board-addresses-16th-street-mission-street-bart-plaza/
https://sffnb.org/2018/10/08/bart-removes-benches-from-16th-street-mission-street-plaza/
Please read Yesica Prado’s San Francisco Public Press article, including excellent photos of SF Food Not Bombs volunteers sharing free vegetarian food: https://sfpublicpress.org/news/2018-12/state-law-cracks-down-on-free-public-meals
Earlier posts about AB-2178:
https://sffnb.org/2018/10/17/governor-brown-signs-controversial-law-on-charitable-food/
https://sffnb.org/2018/09/21/governor-brown-signs-ab-2178-into-law/
San Francisco Food Not Bombs 