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Contents this page were published in the January/February, 1998 edition of the Washington Free Press.
WFP, 1463 E. Republican #178, Seattle, WA -USA, 98112. -- WAfreepress@gmail.com
Copyright © 1998 WFP Collective, Inc.
A local non-profit group fears their humanitarian act may land them behind the bars. Food Not Bombs (FNB), a group that serves Sunday dinner to Seattle's homeless, says the city does not want them serving in Occidental Park.
The group has served their vegetarian fare at the park in Pioneer Square before, but were pressured by the police to leave last spring. The city, in turn, provided a less visible place to for FNB to serve - one that lacked rain shelter. Recently the group voted to return to their original location, citing the necessity of shelter during the wet season. And recently they were again confronted by police who asked to see the park permit, which they did not have. They waited for the police to leave and cautiously served anyway.
Accordingly to FNB volunteer Mike Muir, a multitude of calls have been made to several city offices. Muir was "shoved-off from one agency to the next," to be given what he felt to be lame answer: "Serving food caused a potential pigeon and rat problem."
The group contests that not only do they clean up the park after the feed, but also recycle their serving containers afterward -- just as they did on the public land the city allowed them to use. They considered the city's answer invalid, their allotted space inadequate, and decided to forge ahead with serving in Pioneer Square.
"You know, it's kind of ironic: There's been a lot of attention given to Mother Theresa and her work to serve the poor in a far-off starving country but when it comes to feeding our own poor the city doesn't like to see it," says Marcia Horton, a FNB volunteer.
Many business owners in Pioneer Square have been actively campaigning for the removal of homeless from the area's plentiful park benches. The community's investors see the homeless as being bad for business and have pressured the city government to force the homeless off their streets and out of their back yards.
"We believe that society and government should value human life over material wealth," states an FNB pamphlet, "Many of the problems in the world stem from this simple crises in values."
FNB describes themselves as a loose knit group of independent collectives that believe in food recycling, non-violence and consensus decision making. The group began feeding Vietnam war protestors in the 60's and currently have 70 autonomous chapters protesting militarism and poverty.
To join Food Not Bombs, or to donate food or equipment, call: Chris, (206) 860-3922 or Justin, (206) 320-9763.
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