The crew.
Food Not Bombs is an anarchist mutual aid initiative.
800 million people live in constant hunger, 10 of the largest military powers absorb 1.23 trillion USD per year, ⅓ of all food produced is being thrown away. Food Not Bombs is a response to this injustice.
We recover food that would otherwise end up in the trash, and process it into vegan meals, which we then give out to those in need. Meals are served every Saturday at 15:00 at the Nadodrze Station in Wrocław.
Wrocław has strong roots in anti-military and anti-state, and Food Not Bombs Wrocław still has these two points firmly in its heart and at the foundation of its activities. It's a movement based on broadly understood anarchism, that opposes the expansion and militarization of the state at the expense of the poorest, pushed to the margins to make room for the rich. Through our actions, we expose the gaps in the food distribution system. We build bonds and relationships, both within the collective and with everyone around us. Unfortunately, similarly to other aid organizations, our activities are merely a band-aid for the needs of the people.
- As Food Not Bombs, we are a protest, and regular distros are just a side effect of our actions.
- FNB is not a charity, by definition (“Mutual Aid, Not Charity”). The people we distribute food to are our guests, not our beneficiaries. Mutual aid assumes equality.
- FNB doesn't have to be “ideologically pure” — not everyone has to be anarchist. However, we stick to anarchist principles and the theory of mutual aid.
- Food Not Bombs is for everyone, unconditionally (except the police!!), regardless of e.g. income status or sobriety. Anyone can get involved in cooking, cleaning, or organizing. Nobody leaves hungry.
The beginnings of FNB Wrocław, as the beginnings of Polish FNB in general, are mostly lost or forgotten. Food Not Bombs in Poland began in April 1998 in Wrocław at the Vegetarian March. Autumn of the same year was the start of regular distros, which continue to this day. As in Szczecin, cooking was first organized in student dorms without the knowledge of the management. Later, the initiative was taken over by local squats and communities, such as Rejon 69. At the turn of 2003 and 2004, the now-defunct Krzyk squat in Gliwice welcomed Keith McHenry — one of the founders of the first Food Not Bombs in the world — on his Europe tour, visiting groups that were operating according to the idea of Food Not Bombs; he most likely visited Wrocław as well. Currently, the food is prepared in CRK (Culture Resuscitation Center) — former Jagiellończyk, previously freeDom, now an independent culture center rented to the squatters by the city council.
As always, the desire to help others will always be met with misunderstanding. FNB, being an easy target, often falls victim to nazi attacks or political repression by the authorities.
Apart from some sporadic attacks of dumbass nazis stealing pots & making a fool of themselves here and there, FNB in Poland has had quite a peaceful ground for operation, all things considered. However, the number of collectives is steadily decreasing: in 2020/21 there were about 30 FNB groups throughout Poland; as of 2024, there are 19 left. In smaller cities, FNB groups usually dissolve over time as people inevitably leave. In some, they dissolve along with the squats that used to host them. Each city has a different and unique history of the movement, though all connected by invisible vessels, one inspiring another.
Current groups in Poland: Wrocław, Opole, Poznań, Szczecin, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Płock, Warszawa, Lublin, Łódź, Kielce, Katowice, Kraków, Rzeszów, Bielsko-Biała, Skierniewice, Zielona Góra.
