Story by John Sarvay; illustration by Ralph Paine
Punk rock, beneath the loud and surly surface noise, is often synonymous with anti-war and pro-people. Who do you think filled the dozens of anti-nuclear marches across Europe and helped community kitchens across America grow in the 80s? OK, maybe it was liberal churchgoers, but the punk movement was right in the thick of things. Sometimes.
It seems like this is one of those times in Richmond, thanks to the efforts of the fledgling offshoot of Boston-based “Food Not Bombs.” The local group sets up shop every Sunday around 4 p.m. in Monroe Park to feed the hungry.
“I realized that it needed to be done and I saw this as an opportunity to help others,” says Jamie Early, editor of Chump! magazine. Early is one of about 40 people who have been bringing hot meals to the park every Sunday since January.
The group was started by Alyssa Murray, who worked with Food Not Bombs when she lived in Boston and helped set up an offshoot in Washington, D.C. “I just noticed that there were a lot of homeless people in Richmond,” she says.
But don’t think that the only people who show up are panhandlers. The group has started adding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the all-vegetarian menu because more and more families with children come to the park. Between 100 and 150 people have shown up weekly for a meal.
“There have been several families and you just don’t expect that. It’s hard to realize that there are children that poor off,” says Early.
There are about 30 chapters of Food Not Bombs across the country. The purpose of the group, in addition to feeding people who are hungry, is to draw attention to the problem of hunger in America. As the name implies, it also tries to point out that the United States has not shifted many resources from building weapons of war to helping people in need.
Murray says Ellwood-Thompson Natural Foods and other area businesses have donated food for the weekly meals, but the group still has to purchase food. To make a donation or to work with Food Not Bombs, call Murray at 644-9211.
