This is a new hope for world peace being organized in Saratoga Springs by a really dynamic group of young people who are students at Saratoga Springs High School. They have organized a local Saratoga chapter of Food Not Bombs (FNB), which is now one of the more than 500 FNB chapters around the world.
I got to interview four of them: Alison Katz, Kiernan Brennan, Olivia Zeh and Olivia Stalvey.
There are about 15 freshmen and sophomores that are part of the group. They meet at the public library. With school approval, they can maybe hang up posters, talk about FNB and invite people.
FNB was formed in Cambridge, Mass., in 1980 by anti-nuclear activists. It is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to nonviolent social change. There are no formal leaders; they make decisions by consensus; that is they strive to include everyone in the decision-making process.
Each group recovers food that would otherwise be thrown out and makes fresh hot vegan and vegetarian meals that are served outside in public spaces to anyone without restriction. Each independent group also serves free meals at protests and other events.
Even though FNB is dedicated to nonviolence, volunteers and activists in the United States have been under investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Pentagon and other intelligence agencies. I'm sure Homeland Security has gotten into the action as well.
They ask the question on their Web site, “With over a billion people going hungry each day, how can we spend billions on war?” (A good question if there was ever one, and that's what probably got them into trouble.)
Ever see the bumper sticker or poster that reads, "It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a B 1 bomber”? That's from FNB. (And that is another one of the radical concepts that got them into trouble.)
Alison Katz is the one who found the group on the Internet. She and some others wanted to help people. They think Saratoga Springs is a privileged place, but under the surface there are people going without housing and or food. Homelessness and hunger are not pretty, they told me. (An insightful group they are, that's for sure.) According to them, businesses get rid of food that can be used. We could solve the hunger problem if we didn't waste food; FNB says that 40 percent of our food is wasted. They decided that FNB would be a good way to reach out and raise awareness.
They have just started the group and have had maybe five official meetings. They are contacting local businesses and asking if they are willing to donate food for the food pantry. Shelters of Saratoga and Franklin Community Center have offered to partner with them, take the food they collect and help distribute it.
As of Saturday, Feb. 7, they have not had any responses from the Saratoga Springs businesses they contacted a couple of weeks ago.
I most highly recommend FNB's Web site, www.foodnotbombs.net It is very informative and inspiring.
The seed that began their setting up an FNB chapter in Saratoga Springs was something called “Peace Jam." This is an organization that pairs young people with Nobel Peace Laureates and helps them to develop projects that help foster social justice and develop peace projects. Last year they attended the Peace Jam conference at Elms College in Massachusetts, with 500 other students from the Northeast, where they met Rigoberta Menchu Tum, a farmer's rights activist who was almost president of Guatemala.
The young women all thought about people that have been singled out, thought of as different and discriminated against and decided to support the Special Olympics, a sports organization for people with developmental disabilities. (This is also near and dear to my heart – I've worked for people with developmental disabilities and their families for 20-plus years. The most important thing I ever learned was from the parent who said that they would trade all the special education classes and programs their child had ever received if just once they had been invited to a birthday party or a sleepover. I've never been the same, professionally or personally, since.)
Check out Peace Jam's Web site at www.peacejam.org
While they admire and see the value of civil disobedience actions, and want to stand up for what they believe in, they are not planning any “CD” (I strongly advised them against it and advise the same for anyone under 25). FNB is a way for them to participate in the peace movement. They believe that food is a right, not a privilege, and everyone deserves happiness. They want to serve food at protests and get information out about the cost of war versus peace.
They are also trying to connect the Biblical call to not kill each other and for human rights. “Good luck with that one,” I told them.
You can reach them through: foodnotbombssaratoga@gmail.com
There is a fundraiser for Saratoga Springs Peace Jam from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2 at Pennell's Restaurant, 284 Jefferson Street, in Saratoga Springs. The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for students. There will be music, hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. If you cannot attend but want to help, you can send a check to Justin Fabian/Peace Jam, 37 Winding Brook Drive, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
As I said, they are a dynamic group of young people. To view a photo, click HERE.
This group of young people really do want to help people; they care about peace and want to do something to benefit the world and leave it better. I know I've been sleeping more soundly since I met them.
