| Food Not Bombs Calgary (FNB), a local anti-poverty group, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in May. Since being established in 1996, the group has been collecting unused food, cooking it and then serving it on the streets to hungry Calgarians.
"I like Food Not Bombs because it is a grassroots group," says Brittany Aberle, a volunteer with FNB Calgary. While it has become best known for serving food, FNB has been involved in many activities since it started. In Calgary, the group has organized protests and petitions aimed at getting more affordable housing as well as at drawing connections between war and poverty. In 2003, Food Not Bombs helped to organize demonstrations against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. On the local front, the group ran a campaign two years ago encouraging people to see poverty as an issue during local and provincial elections, and most recently staged a protest against the Calgary Downtown Association, which they accused of stereotyping homeless people.
"It’s impressive that Food Not Bombs has been around for so long," says Aberle, "particularly in a city that isn’t known for being radical."
While everything is still in the planning stages, Food Not Bombs is currently organizing a weekend-long celebration for early May and hope to include such events as a concert, a critical mass bike ride and a festival to mark 10 years in Calgary. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.