Check out this super important organizing happenin in Richmond right now around Public Housing:

www.rephrame.blogspot.com

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009

Print & Distribute! RePHRAME Propaganda!

We understand that everyone who cares about any given cause can’t always take to the streets and be directly involved with the many many campaigns going on through out their community, but one quick and easy thing we can all do is print out a couple fliers and place them in strategic locations. ie. the office, coffee shop, bulletin board, or even in their own home. Please print and distribute freely any fliers, posters, pamphlets, leaflets, etc found on this site.

Download Printable [8.5x11] Version: HERE

Download Printable [11x17] Version: HERE





POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 10:12 AM

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009

An Unnatural Disaster RTD Op-Ed 03.06.08

An Unnatural Disaster

BY ALEX GULOTTA AND CORA HAYES

We’ve all read the recent headlines indicating families across the country are struggling to keep their homes. Yet while the nation’s foreclosure crisis looms large, an entirely different crisis threatens housing for Richmond’s poorest families.

These families live in public housing owned by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which is planning to demolish hundreds of homes without a clearly expressed plan for the many families who will be displaced in the process. While we in Richmond may long for the day when surrounding counties help meet the community’s housing needs, until this day comes City officials must act responsibly.

Public housing exists because the private market does not provide sufficient housing to accommodate the elderly, poor and disabled who survive on fixed incomes and low wages. Today Richmond has roughly 4,100 public housing units, nearly 60% of the 7,064 considered “affordable” for families earning less than a third of the area’s median income (less than $13,624 per year). According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more than 18,000 such families reside in Richmond—meaning that nearly 11,000 families must live in housing they cannot afford.

Clearly, public housing fills a critical need. In fact, a 2007 report by the City stated that the “major housing demand … is for public and assisted housing.”

While recognizing that the greatest housing shortage occurs among our poorest residents is a key first step toward developing sound public policy, unfortunately for Richmond’s poorest residents RRHA has actually reduced public housing options in recent years. Starting in 1999, RRHA razed 440 units in the Blackwell community. Only 75 of the 540 replacement units were affordable to the families whose homes were destroyed. Delays, strict re-qualification restrictions, and other complications contributed to only 27 of the original families returning, while the rest were scattered across the evaporating pool of assisted housing. For hundreds of displaced families, Blackwell was an unnatural disaster.

Nearly 10 years later, another such disaster looms. RRHA recently gained HUD’s approval to sell 120 single-family homes sheltering poor families—with no plans for replacement. RRHA also plans to demolish the 60-unit Dove Court community to make way for mixed-income development, with no commitment regarding the number of public housing units included in the new development. And RRHA has indicated that Gilpin Court in Jackson Ward, home to 783 families, will be its next major redevelopment project. We cannot afford to let Gilpin Court become another Blackwell.

Housing advocates recommend de-concentrating poor families and instead creating mixed-income communities on the theory that families living among others from diverse backgrounds learn from one another, break down barriers, and gain opportunities. Indeed, these arguments often justify the demolition of public housing. But these benefits accrue only to the select few lucky enough to live in the redeveloped communities. Without careful planning, mixed-income communities are a hollow promise for the many families who are not allowed to return after their homes are destroyed.

RRHA may argue that public housing replacement options include “housing choice” vouchers. In theory, these vouchers allow a family to secure housing on the open market using a combination of their own income and a rental subsidy. In reality, vouchers are a poor solution. Private landlords do not have to accept the vouchers. Most do not. In fact, within the last 10 years the City has returned millions of dollars in vouchers to HUD simply because needy families in Richmond were unable to use them.

We must recognize that for all its challenges, public housing satisfies a crucial need for which there is no feasible substitute. Public housing is not perfect, but displacing hundreds of poor families, including the elderly and disabled, who call public housing home is no solution. Before we start bulldozing, we need a workable plan to build affordable replacement housing for the families whose homes will be destroyed.

RRHA has not clearly enumerated how many public housing units will replace those tagged for demolition. Engaging the community in theoretical conversations about the benefits of mixed-income living while ignoring the hard realities is at best an honest mistake, and at worst a travesty.

The City of Richmond and RRHA should commit to at least one-for-one replacement of any public housing units lost—and to a redevelopment planning process that is open and transparent. Richmond’s poorest families must have a seat at the table. Only by taking these steps can our community address Richmond’s most urgent housing needs.

This Op-Ed was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on March 6, 2008. Alex Gulotta is executive director of the Legal Aid Justice Center, and may be contacted at alex@justice4all.org. Cora Hayes is a public housing resident and serves on the Client Advisory Council of the Legal Aid Justice Center.

POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 9:04 AM SECTIONS: ALEX GULOTTA, CORA HAYES, RRHA

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Residents’ Bill of Rights for Redevelopment

We, the following residents of Richmond, call upon RRHA and the City of Richmond to commit to the following principles to govern the process of redeveloping public housing:

1. A meaningful and enforceable resident participation process will guide all substantive decisions about redevelopment;
2. There will be at least one-for-one replacement of all affected units with newly-built or renovated public housing units (“replacement units”);
3. Replacement units will be of like kind (1 bedroom for 1 bedroom, 5 bedroom for 5 bedroom, elderly for elderly, family for family, etc.), subject to an analysis of needs of current and future public housing-eligible residents;
4. Those replacement units will be reserved for very low-income and extremely low-income households, as under current public housing admissions rules;
5. The opportunity to live in the replacement units will be offered firstto those households living in RRHA units, without having to re-apply or re-qualify;
6. Residents who are displaced by redevelopment, and who wish to stay in public housing, will be guaranteed replacement housing in the following order of preference:
   1. Replacement units at their current site.
   2. Replacement units in another area that has equal or greater advantages as their current site.
   3. As a last resort, and only when required by space or necessity, temporary housing of an equal or greater quality to their existing housing, with a duration not to exceed 12 months.

1. Each displaced household will have the right to choose to return to the redeveloped site or to relocate permanently to another replacement unit;
2. The redevelopment process will support a system of economic justice in which residents have priority access to jobs, homeownership and contracting opportunities created by redevelopment, and in which the redeveloped communities feature improved amenities and enhanced access to services, employment and transportation for residents.

POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 6:00 PM SECTIONS: RESIDENTS BOR

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RESPONSE: 7th District City Council Person Candidate Deanna Lewis

Dear Andrew,

Thanks for the opportunity to address your concerns. Much appreciated. My response below:

1. There should be 1-for-1 replacement of any public housing units lost through public housing redevelopment. In other words, there should be no net loss of public housing units. In addition, location of newly created public housing units, and other aspects of the redevelopment process, should increase the employment, education, and other opportunities of public housing residents.

I agree.

Improving conditions in and around Public Housing is on the top of my list as a Council member. Also, I strongly believe that new development should include a mix of low income and public housing units. The idea that a piece of land “is too valuable” to include PH is wrong. Consider the proposed sale of the GRTC land to RHHA. If it were to be decided that the parcel would NOT be sold to RHHA I’d be a very vocal advocate for a development with a mix of high-end, affordable and Public Housing units. Such a development would create a community where people of all income levels would be exposed to the same education, public services and better access to employment opportunities and the chance to prosper.

The 7th District is home to a large number of the family housing developments in the city. I’ll also work hard to insure that the need for PH is shared equally by all of Richmond’s 9 districts if not physically, then financially to create a better environment for all of the residents.

2. Current residents should have the right to return to newly developed public housing without any additional screening or requalification process. In the past, additional credit checks and other screenings (above and beyond those to which public housing residents are routinely subjected) have been used to effectively prevent previous residents from coming back to the newly developed housing. We believe redevelopment should not be used to get rid of residents who have done nothing to warrant eviction.

I agree. A good tenant is a good tenant regardless and should be welcomed back. Such action should also warrant an investigation as to why those practices were adopted and permitted.

3. Public housing residents should have a meaningful voice in decisions regarding their housing and communities. Currently only 1 out of 7 RRHA commissioners is a public housing resident. RePHRAME proposes adding 2 additional seats to the RRHA Board of Commissioners which would be filled with RRHA residents.

I agree.

I would also go further and recommend that each PH community be encouraged to be engaged and form their own regularly scheduled tenant association meetings attended by a local Police Office noting their concerns, complaints and reporting on incidences in the neighborhood that the residents should watch out for as is done in the majority of all the civic associations. When you empower people to take ownership in their community it does make a difference.

As a private citizen I was engaged in my community long before I considered running for CIty Council. I’ve attended all of the major association/civic and tenant meetings in all parts of the 7th several times over. Each area they represent has needs specific to those areas. What is a concern in Fulton Hills may not apply to Whitcomb Court, Union Hill, Chimborazo etc. As Council Woman, I will continue to be on the ground and maintain an active part if these meetings. I will be encouraging them to appoint one member from each group to a new 7th District Council Community Task Force to give a greater voice to their neighborhoods and speak to the varied needs of the 7th. My intent is to be connected, available and present. It’s my neighborhood, I live here and I intend for it to flourish.

Best regards,

Deanna

www.DeannaLewis4Council.com

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of Earth.
- Abraham LincolnPOSTED BY REPHRAME AT 10:15 AM SECTIONS: DEANNA LEWIS

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Request for City Council Candidates of the 7th District Council Person’s Response to RePHRAMES Three Major Concerns

Dear Candidates for the 7th District:

RePHRAME requests your responses to our three major concerns regarding public housing redevelopment (explained in detail below).

RePHRAME is an alliance of public housing residents, partner organizations, and individual allies committed to housing justice for all in Richmond. Our partner organizations include the following:

Center for Neighborhood Enterprise and Economic Development (CNEED)
Fay Towers Tenant Council
Legal Aid Client Advisory Council
Legal Aid Justice Center
Richmond Crusade for Voters
Richmond Jobs With Justice
Richmond NAACP
Richmond Peace Education Center (RPEC)
Richmond Tenant Organization (RTO)
Virginia Organizing Project (VOP)

RePHRAME recently held our 2nd Annual Community Forum on Public Housing Redevelopment, held at Fay Towers and attended by 175 RePHRAME members and supporters. Five members of City Council and Mayor Jones attended as well. Over the summer RePHRAME members met with all nine members of Council individually to discuss our major concerns regarding public housing redevelopment. These concerns are as follows:

1. There should be 1-for-1 replacement of any public housing units lost through public housing redevelopment. In other words, there should be no net loss of public housing units. In addition, location of newly created public housing units, and other aspects of the redevelopment process, should increase the employment, education, and other opportunities of public housing residents.

2. Current residents should have the right to return to newly developed public housing without any additional screening or requalification process. In the past, additional credit checks and other screenings (above and beyond those to which public housing residents are routinely subjected) have been used to effectively prevent previous residents from coming back to the newly developed housing. We believe redevelopment should not be used to get rid of residents who have done nothing to warrant eviction.

3. Public housing residents should have a meaningful voice in decisions regarding their housing and communities. Currently only 1 out of 7 RRHA commissioners is a public housing resident. RePHRAME proposes adding 2 additional seats to the RRHA Board of Commissioners which would be filled with RRHA residents.

Please reply to this message with your responses to the above three concerns. We ask that your responses include a clear “yes” or “no” for each of the three issues. Additional explanation is welcome as well.

RePHRAME will circulate any responses received before next week’s election.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Andrew Schoeneman (on behalf of RePHRAME)POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 10:08 AM SECTIONS: ANDREW SCHOENEMAN, CLARENCE KENNEY, CYNTHIA I NEWBILLE,DEANNA LEWIS, GARRY F POWELL AND ROBIN D ROBINSON, RONALD L BOND

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RePHRAME: 2nd Annual Community Forum on Public Housing in Richmond Sempter 15th, 2009

RePHRAME – 2nd Annual Community Forum on Public Housing – September 15, 2009 from Silver Persinger on Vimeo.POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 9:40 AM SECTIONS: 2ND ANNUAL COMMUNITY FORUM ON PUBLIC HOUSING IN RICHMOND, SILVER PERSINGER

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RRHA Freezes Rent Subsidy Program

By David Ress
Published: September 5, 2009

Richmond’s housing authority is freezing its rent-subsidy program because of a financial jam.

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s move means that 130 families who received vouchers for subsidies within the past two months won’t be able to get the help.

“We’re telling them, unfortunately, we don’t have the funding,” said Shawn Williams, director of the authority’s federally funded rent-subsidy program.

“It just wouldn’t be right. Their name would be on the lease. If we didn’t have the money to pay the subsidy, the landlord could ask them for the full amount,” she said.

But the freeze caught Shellette Williams, who uses a wheelchair, just as she thought she and her four children finally had come to the end of a five-year wait for the rent subsidy that would allow her family to move from her mother’s house.

There had been some back and forth over the rent, but she negotiated a reduction and tried for days to get word to the RRHA.

The authority “finally calls me back today . . . and guess what?” Williams said. “I have been packing for over two weeks. . . . Now we have nowhere to go.”

The subsidies, often known as Section 8, or the Housing Choice Voucher Program, involve a three-way agreement. Once a low-income family qualifies for the program and finds an apartment, they sign a lease with the landlord and pay 30 percent of their income as rent. The authority then pays the landlord any difference between the family’s payment and the actual rent for the apartment.

Because of its new financial squeeze, the authority is asking the city for nearly $420,000 of funding in December.

RRHA needs the money to cover rent subsidies for 84 families, separate from the 130. This group already had found a place to live and, unlike Williams, either have moved or are about to move.
“The mayor didn’t hesitate for a minute,” said Anthony Scott, RRHA’s chief executive officer. “We felt it was wrong to disrupt people’s lives by canceling those.”

But paying those vouchers will leave the authority walking a financial tightrope for a while — a tightrope that other housing authorities, including those in Winston-Salem, N.C., Boise, Idaho, and Birmingham, Ala., have managed by stopping subsidy payments to some families who already were receiving them.

“Everybody’s being affected,” said Virginia Supportive Housing spokeswoman Candice Streett. “In the program, you’re supposed to contribute 30 percent of your income towards rent. As people lose their jobs, the amount housing authorities have to subsidize is going up . . . but there’s only so many dollars coming out of the federal spigot.”

At RRHA, for instance, the monthly cost of rent subsidies has climbed from about $1.4 million or $1.5 million earlier this year to $1.9 million for September, Scott said. The money all comes from the federal government.
Scott is hoping that Congress will approve funding increases for rent subsidies when it considers the issue next month, and that U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials will increase the department’s payments to RRHA when they next review the authority’s program, in January.

Those payments reflect the amount of use by an authority. In the past, that was a problem for RRHA, which was blasted by federal auditors last year because it managed its waiting list so poorly that nearly 675 families didn’t get housing even though funds were available.

Since then, RRHA has ramped up the rent-subsidy program, spending about $1 million a month out of a $7 million surplus that it had built up over years of mismanaging the waiting list.

The result is that it has cut the waiting list from several thousand to 1,200, and that nearly 3,000 Richmond families now receive rent subsidies, up from fewer than 2,500 two years ago.

Now, the authority has to wait for HUD’s review to recognize its stepped-up activity.

If HUD does not increase payments to RRHA, the authority could end up with a $6 million deficit by next September. It would have to cut more than 1,000 families from the program to break even financially, according to internal RRHA financial projections.

“This is serious,” said Richmond City Councilman E. Martin Jewell, a longtime housing activist. “It sounds like they’ve gotten into financial trouble again . . . but for many people, RRHA is housing of last resort.”
HUD Richmond office spokeswoman Toni Schmiegelow said it is up to agencies such as RRHA to take steps to stay within the budgets HUD sets for them.

“The authority appears to have made an assessment that it needs to manage its program differently in order to control and reduce expenses to otherwise operate within the budget,” she said.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/RRHA05_20090904-215807/290822/POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 9:22 AM SECTIONS: ANTHONY SCOTT, DAVID RESS, MARTIN JEWELL, MAYOR DWIGHT C JONES, RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH, RRHA

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Write Your City Officials!

Please take a moment and write your city officials and declare your support for the three concerns and demands as presented by RePHRAME (Residents of Public Housing in Richmond Against Mass Eviction. Contact information is below, and the three concerns and demands are:

1. There should be 1-for-1 replacement of any public housing units lost through public housing redevelopment. In other words, there should be no net loss of public housing units. In addition, location of newly created public housing units, and other aspects of the redevelopment process, should increase the employment, education, and other opportunities of public housing residents.

2. Current residents should have the right to return to newly developed public housing without any additional screening or requalification process. In the past, additional credit checks and other screenings (above and beyond those to which public housing residents are routinely subjected) have been used to effectively prevent previous residents from coming back to the newly developed housing. We believe redevelopment should not be used to get rid of residents who have done nothing to warrant eviction.

3. Public housing residents should have a meaningful voice in decisions regarding their housing and communities. Currently only 1 out of 7 RRHA commissioners is a public housing resident. RePHRAME proposes adding 2 additional seats to the RRHA Board of Commissioners which would be filled with RRHA residents.

:::: Richmond City Council

Kathy C. Graziano (President) – 4^th District,
kathy.graziano@richmondgov.com
Ellen F. Robertson (VP) – 6^th Dist.,
Ellen.robertson@richmondgov.com
Bruce W. Tyler – 1st Dist.,
bruce.tyler@richmondgov.com
Charles R. Samuels – 2nd Dist.,
Charles.samuels@richmondgov.com
Chris A. Hilbert – 3rd Dist.,
chris.hilbert@richmondgov.com
E. Martin Jewell – 5th Dist.,
marty.jewell@richmondgov.com
Betty L. Squire – 7th Dist.,
betty.squire@richmondgov.com
Reva M. Trammell – 8th Dist.,
reva.trammell@richmondgov.com
Doug G. Conner – 9th Dist.,
doug.conner@richmondgov.com

City Hall, 3^rd Floor
900 East Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23219

:::: Mayor of Richmond

Dwight C. Jones,
askthemayor@richmondgov.com

City Hall, Suite 201
900 East Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23219

:::: Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority (RRHA)

Anthony Scott (CEO),
dpjackso@rrha.state.va.us (recipent: Asst. Doris Jackson-Crocker)

Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority
901 Chamberlayne Parkway
Richmond, VA 23220

POSTED BY REPHRAME AT 9:03 AM SECTIONS: ANTHONY SCOTT, BETTY L SQUIRE, BRUCE W TYLER, CHARLES R SAMUELS, CHRIS A HILBERT, DOUG G CONNER, ELLEN F ROBERTSON, KATHY C GRAZIANO, LETTER, MARTIN JEWELL, MAYOR DWIGHT C JONES, REVA M TRAMMELL

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2009

Evicting the Poor

Evicting the Poor

We agree that doing something to help improve the lives of Gilpin Court and Fay Tower residents is a moral imperative.

by Thad Williamson and Adria Scharf

Concentrated poverty and crime — those are the words most Richmonders instinctively think of when they hear the phrase “Gilpin Court.”

It’s not difficult to find data to support the popular image of Richmond’s oldest and largest public housing development as a distressing exhibit of the city’s racial and economic segregation. Census data from 2000 shows the Gilpin Court area has a median household income of just $8,429, and a poverty rate of 73 percent. Ninety-seven percent of neighborhood residents are black. The neighborhood is widely regarded as unsafe.

Consequently, it’s not difficult to find well-meaning Richmonders who say “We really ought to do something about Gilpin Court.” We agree that doing something to help improve the lives of Gilpin Court and Fay Tower residents is a moral imperative. But the first thing we as a community must do in considering the neighborhood’s future is assure that future redevelopment leaves no public housing residents worse off than they are now. Second, we must recognize public housing residents as fellow citizens who have a right to play an active role in shaping the area’s future.

During the 1990s the idea of breaking up concentrated poverty in urban centers came to dominate federal housing policy. The federal government instituted what became known as the HOPE VI program, which actively supported demolishing older housing projects and replacing them with mixed-income neighborhoods with newer, more attractive public housing options. The catch is that in city after city where HOPE VI redevelopment was implemented, the total number of public housing units declined. In the rush to redevelop, the federal government dropped its longstanding one-for-one replacement rule requiring local public authorities to replace any units demolished with the same number of newly built housing units.

A decade later, evidence suggests that while the HOPE VI developments often did succeed in creating more attractive communities, their impact on poverty reduction was minimal. Some residents were displaced by the program and ended up in other high poverty neighborhoods. Those who were able to move back into the new developments didn’t automatically see improvements in their economic prospects.

Simply put, deconcentrating poverty isn’t the same thing as ending poverty. You cannot end poverty by reshuffling low-income households around like pieces on a chess board. The way to end poverty is to expand the economic opportunities — jobs, training and education — available to poor people.

If a redevelopment plan truly expands the economic opportunities available to public-housing residents then it might make for a morally justifiable policy. But removing people from their homes without their consent and without a clear plan about where they should go does little to end poverty. It’s possible to make Gilpin Court a nicer place without actually helping the people who live there.

That’s why it’s worrisome that the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has not guaranteed one-for-one unit replacement as part of its ambitious plans to redevelop the area. The authority’s plan, unveiled last winter, calls for transforming the area into a mixed-income neighborhood to be renamed North Jackson Ward. While the plan calls for increasing the number of housing units in the neighborhood, at most 30 percent would be set aside for public-housing residents. That means a maximum of 600 public housing units will be part of the new development, compared with 983 units today — and the housing authority plans to rescreen current residents, which advocates argue will serve to prevent many households from returning.

Where will the other people go? That’s the essential question the housing authority must answer before plans go any further. The relevant moral principle in this case is that no public housing resident should be made worse off by a redevelopment plan; and the only way to guarantee that outcome is to commit to one-for-one replacement.

The housing authority plans to offer housing vouchers to those residents who won’t be able to return to the redeveloped North Jackson Ward. The problem with that idea is that not all landlords accept vouchers; those that do are also usually in high-poverty neighborhoods and vouchers do not provide housing security. Moreover, such vouchers are contingent on funding from the federal government. The housing authority’s recent recall of 163 vouchers it had promised to families underscores that such promises are not a reliable lifeline.

To be sure, Anthony Scott, the housing authority’s director, has pledged that there will not be another Blackwell — the now infamous redevelopment of the Blackwell housing project in Manchester that kicked out hundreds of families. The agency has repeatedly said that all displaced residents will end up with a safe and affordable place to live, although there is no specific plan about how this will be accomplished. The agency’s Web site promises that displaced residents will receive assistance from a relocation specialist.

Based on the history of housing redevelopment in Richmond and across the country, Gilpin Court residents can be excused for being skeptical of such promises.

At a Sept. 15 community housing forum sponsored by Residents of Public Housing in Richmond Against Mass Eviction (RePHRAME), 175 residents from Gilpin and Fay Towers called on the housing authority to adhere to the following principles: one-for-one housing replacement, giving residents the right to return without having to be rescreened, and greater involvement in the planning, including increased resident representation on the housing authority’s board.

Mayor Dwight Jones attended the meeting and says he supports the principle of one-to-one replacement. Five members of City Council were also present. Unfortunately, neither Scott nor any other decision-maker from the housing authority attended. Scott did meet with RePHRAME on Sept. 28, as this article was going to press.

Our city has a history of displacing low-income black communities in the name of redevelopment. We continue to live with the legacies, and the trauma, of previous planning decisions that did just that. Given this history, we as a city have an obligation to learn from our past and to make sure that we do things differently this time. S

Thad Williamson is an assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond. Adria Scharf is executive director of the Richmond Peace Education Center.



Evicting the Poor | Articles/Archives | Style Weekly Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture and opinionPOSTED BY REPHRAME AT 8:18 PM SECTIONS: ADRIA SCHARF, RICHMOND PEACE EDUCATION CENTER, STYLE WEEKLY, THAD WILLIAMSON

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Hey guys!

We will be having the first MFNB meeting this Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 11am. It will be held in the Missoula Public Library (large meeting room). This is the meeting to attend if you are interested in helping out.

There will also be delicious cookies, so ask yourself, can you  pass this up? Oh, wait. Nope, you can’t.

We are having the first Missoula Food Not Bombs meeting this Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 11 a.m. It will be held in the large meeting room at the Missoula Public Library.

If you are interested in joining, this is the meeting to attend.

]]> http://tofuzilla.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/food-not-bombs-promo/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:25:13 +0000 sassandperil http://tofuzilla.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/food-not-bombs-promo/

My etsy shop is participating in the “Ten Percent for Peace Event” November 30-December 6 with the EtsyVeg Team! “Ten Percent for Peace” participating EtsyVeg shops are donating 10% of all sales made during the week to the Food Not Bombs ‘A Dollar for Peace’ Campaign , and some are offering special savings, too. Double your giving in the giving season by shopping handmade for the holidays while also supporting a worthy cause! Find more “Ten Percent” shops at http://etsyveg.blogspot.com

Z serii KULTURA WYSOKA – D.I.Y. GIG: DAYMARES + S.A.T.A.N. + BURN THE CROSS oraz pokaz filmów produkcji TV narodowej. Odbędzie się także benefit na FOOD NOT BOMBS Lublin.

22 listopada 2009, niedziela
godz. 20.00
wjazd: 12 zł

DAYMARES /hardcore/ Warszawa

www.myspace.com/yourdaymares

S.A.T.A.N. (SCREAMING ART TERRORIZING APATHETHIC NOTHINGNESS) /powerviolence/ Jasło

www.myspace.com/diysatan

BURN THE CROSS /screamo crust/ Jasło

+ Projekcja filmów z wideoteki Telewizji narodowej z Lublina.

Za tektura.wordpress.com

Welcome to Missoula Food Not Bombs! We’re a community organization promoting peace through community meals.  Please click here to learn more about the Missoula chapter, and to find out how you can become part of the Missoula FNB movement.

Find us on Facebook at Missoula Food Not Bombs

-Thanksgiving Lunch in Farmingville
Thursday, November 26th at 11am
Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=346896860432

-Farmingville Food Share
Thursday, November 26th at 6:30pm

__________________________________________

The list of events and ways to help as described below is not all-inclusive. Please go to the Long Island Food Not Bombs website for more information and ways that you can donate (food, clothing, toys, books) to the efforts.

Starting November 21st and going through November 26th Long Island Food Not Bombs will be holding it’s largest endeavor to date; it will include parties, Food Shares, copious amounts of decadent foods, the sharing of clothing, books and the organized efforts of hundreds of community members and so much more!

-Hempstead Thanksgiving Food Share Bonanza
On Sunday, November 22nd at 2pm Long Island Food Not Bombs will be transforming the weekly Hempstead Food Share into what we’re calling the Hempstead Food Share Bonanza.
When: Sun, November 22, 2009 2:00pm – 4:30pm
Where: Hempstead, NY, NY

Z serii KULTURA WYSOKA – D.I.Y. GIG: DAYMARES + S.A.T.A.N. + BURN THE CROSS oraz pokaz filmów produkcji TV narodowej. Odbędzie się także benefit na FOOD NOT BOMBS Lublin.

22 listopada 2009, niedziela
godz. 20.00
wjazd: 12 zł

DAYMARES /hardcore/ Warszawa

www.myspace.com/yourdaymares

S.A.T.A.N. (SCREAMING ART TERRORIZING APATHETHIC NOTHINGNESS) /powerviolence/ Jasło

www.myspace.com/diysatan

BURN THE CROSS /screamo crust/ Jasło

+ Projekcja filmów z wideoteki Telewizji narodowej z Lublina.

www.telewizjanarodowa.wordpress.com

TEKTURA zaprasza na projekcję najlepszych produkcji z wideoteki Telewizji narodowej z Lublina – oddolnej inicjatywy działaczy szczebla podstawowego, której celem jest m.in. tępienie krzyżactwa, sodomii i masonerii. Filmy powstają najprościej jak to możliwe – nagrywane przez autorów za pomocą telefonów komórkowych, czyli inaczej – zrób to sam. Spotkanie i pokaz w Tekturze będzie jedyną okazją poznania inicjatywy TV narodowej, skonfrontowania się z jej niezłomnymi twórcami, ich planami na przyszłość oraz najciekawszymi produkcjami ekipy. Prowadzenie: Grzegorz Wyskok.

DAYMARES /hardcore/ Warszawa

DAYMARES to istniejąca od 2006 roku kapela z Warszawy, której udało się ten, wydawałoby się krótki, okres czasu spędzić całkiem aktywnie. Arek, Marcin i Pat zaczęli grać wspólnie próby w zimę 2006 r., aby stworzyć zespół, którego wizję mieli w głowach od bardzo dawna. Pomysł był taki, aby grać muzę, w która byłaby wypadkową ciężkiego HC, death’n’roll’a i punk rocka: ciężar, brutalność, złość, pasja, a do tego krytyczne teksty. Wkrótce do zespołu dołącza Grzesiek (nota bene brat bliźniak Marcina) i od tej pory wszystko rusza. Intensywnie grając próby przez całą wiosnę, nagrywają w maju „Darkness” na składankę z coverami Integrity (Escapist Artist Records), a z pierwszym dniem lipca lądują w warszawskim, znanym skądinąd, Serakos Studio, aby nagrać debiutanckie demo.

Do dnia dzisiejszego na koncie mają bardzo dobrze przyjętą dużą płytę, jeszcze świeży split z Moenster, a pierwszego maja 2008 ukazał się ich nowy MCD. Przez te dwa lata Daymares zagrało kilka mniejszych lub większych tras i pojedynczych koncertów w Polsce i wielu krajach Europy. Muzycznie Daymares to brutalny i brudny miks hardcore/punk/metal, w którym nie trudno doszukać się wpływów Tragedy, Cro-Mags czy Entombed.

www.myspace.com/yourdaymares

S.A.T.A.N. (SCREAMING ART TERRORIZING APATHETHIC NOTHINGNESS) /powerviolence/ Jasło

Szybki thrash powerviolence punk z mocnymi tekstami.

www.myspace.com/diysatan

BURN THE CROSS /screamo crust/ Jasło

Nowy projekt grajków z Romeo Must Die oraz Dead Inside to mroczne, depresyjne punkowe granie.

Poniżej skan artykułu z dodatku do Gazety Wyborczej “Co jest grane”.

Today’s suggestion for changing the world is to form a ‘Food not Bombs’ group. The theory behind such a group is to gather food from various sources (fresh vegetables running out of shelf life, etc) and to seek to feed the local hungry people – such as the homeless, poor, etc.

These groups also protest against war.

This suggestion is also not for me – but not because I don’t like the idea. It is a great idea and one others may like to pursue. Visit the web site below for more information:

www.foodnotbombs.net

Watch We Need Food Not Bombs on Free Speech Tv

Thurs nov 12 11pm
Sunday Nov 15th 1am
Friday Nov13th 4am and 5pm
Wed Nov 18th 11am
Monday nov 16 5pm

You can watch it online here

The Wingnut: The Wingnut is a house that was built in 1922 that Mo bought. Jeremy (Gramps) and Johnny Ray and Grits and Flapjack live there too. They all put in a ton of work to fix the house up, including building a wall, laying down new subflooring and floors, painting everything fabulous colors, refinishing the floors, etc. Now they are ready for the house to become part of the radical Richmond community. Food Not Bombs will be moving to the Wingnut this winter. And many more events will be held in the space in the future. Plus we want you to hang out a lot. The Wingnut is in Southern Barton Heights, which is on Northside.

Sober: The Wingnut is a sober house. Which means, no drugs or alcohol on you or in you. Do not come intoxicated or even bring the means of intoxication with you.

Positive Attitude: It would be awesome if we could have a really good time together, and let go of some of the petty problems we have with each other. We do better united and we all get more out of it. Pack a smile.

Respect: We are new in our neighborhood and really do not want to be a detriment to the area. So please, no littering (including cigarette butts). And if you have it in you, we encourage being friendly to folks you pass, saying hey or waving or whatever you are comfortable with. We also ask that you respect our house and not give money to anyone who approaches you while in our yard or on our porch.

Music: We are open to acoustic musical shows at the house. We love folk punk, bluegrass, old timey music, pop punk, and muuuuch more. As long as you are cool with a sober show…

Non-human Animals: Grits and Flapjack both live at the Wingnut. Other dogs have to be on heartworm and flea medicine to come visit, that way Grits and Flapjack don’t get sick. We have a fenced in back yard, but if you don’t think your dog will get along with ours, better not.

Kids: DUH!!! Being sober helps us be more all ages inclusive, as does us being really really silly. Kids are definitely encouraged and if you need any special accomadations for them let me know. We can figure out a nap spot etc. : )

Wheelchairs and Differently Abled Folks: We do not as of this post’s creation have a wheelchair ramp installed, but we do plan to construct one at some point. If we don’t have it finished by the time you come over, have no fear, we can definitely help carry anyone in a wheelchair or on crutches in. Or let us know what you need and we will do our best to be as all inclusive as possible.

Safe Space: We want the Wingnut to be a safe space for folks of all genders, sexualities, races,classes, ages, religions etc. So we ask that folks respect others in the space and watch their mouths and privilege. And even though we are all cute as hell, it doesn’t mean we want to be sexually harassed all the time. So please, keep your advances to a minimum and always remember to use consent. Anyone who has advice or concerns around this area is more than welcome to talk to Mo about it so we can do better.

Anyone who violates the safety or sobriety of the space will be asked to leave. And then forced to leave. Cause we are wingnuts, and you don’t wanna mess with us.

If you want an issue of Cuddle Puddles and Hot Pants # 4, please send 3 dollars to
Mo Karnage
PO Box 6025
Richmond, VA 23222

It is a super long issue, about Richmond activism, about my life, about silly stuff. Includes book and movie reviews, funny pictures etc. Definitely worth checking out!

I also still have back issues #1 and #3. Issue 3 is 2 bucks and Issue 1 is 1 buck.
Thanks for your support!
Mo

If you want an issue of Cuddle Puddles and Hot Pants # 4, please send 3 dollars to
Mo Karnage
PO Box 6025
Richmond, VA 23222

It is a super long issue, about Richmond activism, about my life, about silly stuff. Includes book and movie reviews, funny pictures etc. Definitely worth checking out!

I also still have back issues #1 and #3. Issue 3 is 2 bucks and Issue 1 is 1 buck.
Thanks for your support!
Mo

(Levon)

If you read our newsletter yesterday you know that we’ve made some changes in living arrangements.  Our little beach house with our brother and sister was a perfect summer fit, but along with the cold came the feeling that it was going to get cramped.  Okay, it was cramped.  We moved two doors down to the closest motel where now we live a pampered resort life for a weekly rate in cash that would make anyone consider a winter visit to the beach.  It’s nice to have our utilities and furnishings under one bill.  Even HBO and wi fi.  Unfortunately the weekly rate doesn’t include any room service or clean towels.  This morning I asked for more single serving coffee packs and was told, “no, the weekly rate doesn’t include anything extra like that.”

I said, “okay, just checking.”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” she replied.

??? Anyway.

It is interesting to note that entire segments of society float about hotels in their off seasons to capture this phenomenon of relatively inexpensive living.  Every hotel on the beach is advertising $200 per week; the nice ones are $39 per night.  We have interesting neighbors, as do all the other 50 hotels within 4 miles of here.

This peculiar style of living has provoked another experiment.  Not wasting food.  We have been involved in trying to start a local Food Not Bombs chapter in Virginia Beach.  Norfolk has a successful one as do many cities, and the idea is to enact in a peaceful protest by having a meal together that would have been wasted or discarded.  The protest is against war, poverty and destruction of the environment.  (www.foodnotbombs.net)

ashley's flier

Dumpster diving is the term for collecting discarded things from their owners and may also be referred to as curb shopping, urban foraging, or aggressive recycling.  There are levels of diving, such as telling a store manager that you would like to systematically collect the nightly throwaways.  However to avoid messy conflicts or spending time with such policies, most establishments make the easiest policy which is “sorry, we can’t.”

The second level of diving is to find an insider who will let you take it.  At Starbucks I was such an assistant without my even knowing of the concept. On the Upper East Side of Manhattan I had a regular nightly few that took our countless coffee cakes, fruit trays, drinks to be poured out and sandwiches “made fresh daily.”  (The sandwiches had marked expirations for about three days but had to be discarded to advertise as “daily.”)  Where is the sense?  I took home all I wanted.  Of course I understand the scale of which Starbucks and its similiars operate, and how much expense would be involved in properly disposing of the food.  On one hand, yes they should spend that expense, but on the other, they knowingly turn their heads to this midlevel dumpster diving at every location I’ve encountered.  Okay…

The third type of dumpster diving is pretty blatant.  I don’t dumpster dive literally for food.  For living room furniture: guilty.  But not food.

Soup kitchens have been my nightly trip this week at 6:00.  I have served at plenty of these in my life and think that is important to do so.  But never have I walked in on the other side of the line and waited for my table to be called.  First, they turn the lights off to silence the room.  Then when the volunteers names are called, we clap for them.  I can’t help but wonder how much better it would feel if we all ate together instead of reaffirming lines that exist between us.  After all, this is not a hand out; it is a resourceful means of sharing what was almost turned away.  There is no shame in that.  If Harris Teeter had a cookout out front in the parking lot every night at 6:00, it would be differently attended.

Let me be clear that there is no experimenting when it comes to interacting or considering myself in contrast to the souls I sit with.  I am perceptive, yes, but I’m there to eat.  I don’t pretend to be the same or any different. We all have a circumstance that’s a little complicated to explain, on both sides of the serving line.  Just wanted to get that said.

I’m pretty excited about the gig in Norfolk on Saturday.  Ashley won third place in the Spirit show two weeks ago and got a gift card for the same place I’ll be playing.  We’re on our way to scout it out.

JEDZENIE ZAMIAST BOMB Lublin

W najbliższą sobotę, 7 listopada rusza dziewiąty sezon lubelskiego Food Not Bombs – akcja wspiera bezpłatnymi, wegetariańskimi posiłkami wszystkich głodnych i potrzebujących.

Więcej o samej akcji i jej historii na naszej stronie: www.tektura.wordpress.com/fnb/

Zapraszamy wszystkich wspólnego przygotowywania posiłków dla potrzebujących -  w każdy piątek, o godz. 18.30, w TEKTURZE, Wieniawska 15a. Startujemy z gotowaniem 6 listopada. Nie zapomnij wziąć ze sobą deskę do krojenia, nóż lub obieraczkę.

Akcję wydawania bezpłatnych posiłków prowadzimy w każdą sobotę, przed Bramą Krakowską, o godz. 14.oo.

One of the things that strikes me about the Whiteaker is how much a part of the identity of its residents it is. Pride in one’s ‘hood is normal, even if it’s a love/hate relationship — but some neighborhoods seem to foster this pride more than others.

And there’s definitely something to be proud of. There is no mistaking the Whit, from the official unofficial flag which resembles a pirate flag, to hook-handed bikers riding chopper bicycles. Trees have been left to grow, shading the neighborhood in the summer, and in the fall decorating the ground with a slippery layer of reds, yellows and oranges. On our tour of the neighborhood, we saw a bona fide Grateful Dead bus parked along Blair Ave. John, our guide, told us nonchalantly that the bus had been there for years, and that people (called the Rainbow Family and regarded an important part of the community) still lived in it.  It suddenly became apparent to me where some notions of Eugene come from. It gained a reputation during the 1999 World Trade Organization as the home of “green anarchy” after a group of Whiteaker-based anarchists were arrested for their involvement in the “Battle for Seattle.”

Rather than throwing them away, people often leave kitchenware, chairs, appliances, and many other still useable items by the sidewalk for those who might want them. And people do. (Re-use, after all, is the second R, which makes it better than recycling). Nearby, in Washington-Jefferson Park, there’s Food Not Bombs, which provides healthy vegetarian and vegan meals for free a la local business for anyone. On Thursday nights, the same park is (sometimes) home to bike polo (which is polo minus horse plus bike).

One of the businesses we were told to by a resident, the Keystone Café, actually lies just outside of the city’s eastern boundary of the Whiteaker (Jefferson, by the way). Although it’s only one block outside, this reminded me that physical boundaries mean a lot less than human ones, and it’s the residents that are really what makes this neighborhood unique.

Hello, hello!  Charlotte here.  Hope your Halloween/Dias de los muertos were festive and fun, and just a little scary.  I know my 31st of October was muy excellente, the reasons for which I can sum up in three words: vegan cupcake giveaway!  Yes, there are few things that bring me greater joy than vegan food being made and distributed to the masses gratis.  (Which means I conceptually adore Food Not Bombs, even though the DC chapter does their cooking and distributing when I’m working and/or elsewhere.)  This Saturday, I decided to shake off a painful and frustrating Friday by getting back to one of my favorite activities, and then sharing the fruits of my labor with the world!  Or, at least the first twenty or so strangers I could persuade to take a cupcake from the strange woman in the red wig.  Let me ’splain:

Chipotle gives out free burritos on Halloween, to anyone who comes in dressed as a burrito.  In practice this means wrapping some part of one’s body, however small, in tin foil.  It’s fun, it’s easy, it gets me free quasi-Mexican food.  So it’s become something of a Halloween tradition for us underemployed young people in the greater metropolitan area. There’s always a crowd, which to my mind immediately means: perfect opportunity for some creative outreach.  I could put on my Halloween costume (Sally, from The Nightmare Before Christmas), go give out cupcakes, then wrap my wrist in foil, get my free burrito, and be done in time for the play my roommie and our friend Lady J had tickets for in the evening.  That was my thinking after getting out of bed.  Then I opened VCTOTW to this recipe, and that sealed the deal.  Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes?  Chocolate and cayenne pepper?  What better way to celebrate the Days of the Dead?!  Clearly the spirits were sending me a message.

All right, so, the cupcakes: what exactly makes Mexican hot chocolate different from any other chocolate cupcake?  I already mentioned the cayenne pepper — just a pinch in the batter.  Plus cocoa powder (natch), vanilla and almond extracts (still a big fan of the old stand-bys), and cinnamon to round out your spices.  Instead of the usual soy or rice milk, these cakes are made with rich creamy coconut milk.  Pouring it from the can, I almost wanted to forget the cupcakes and drink it straight.  But I restrained myself, and luckily so, or the cakes wouldn’t have been so moist.  The batter also calls for corn flour, as in the substance to which we owe tasty chips, burritos, tacos–all manner of delicious things onto which one may spoon a generous helping of guacomole.  (But I wouldn’t recommend guacomole on the cupcakes.)

Either my flaxseeds have lost some of their oomphf, or my oven is dial is not spot-on (either might account for it), but these didn’t rise in the baking as nicely as other recipes have.  Probably I also took them out a smidgeon too soon.  Terry & Isa always say insert a fork into the center to test for done-ness; when it comes out clean, the cakes are baked.  Well, my testing fork was clean, but the cupcakes still looked a little gooey.  I went with it, though.  I had filled some of the liners too high, and they’d baked over the sides, sticking to the pan, which meant I had to chip a few edges off the cupcake tops to get them out of the pan.  Good for me — I ate the crumbs quite happily — not as good for the cupcakes’ appearance.  To compensate, and also because roommie wisely advised me that anyone who gets a cupcake–even a free cupcake–with no topping feels cheated, I covered each with the Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping (143).  This recipe calls for 4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped, but I sped things along with some chocolate chips instead.  The Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (unlike most of the Ghirardelli products I’ve come across) are actually vegan and quite good, in that pretensious fine-chocolate kind of way.

Results?  The cupcakes were an ooey-gooey chocolatey mess, and absolutely wonderful to eat.  Rich, moist, with a nice spicy kick at the end to wake you up.  But not too spicy for more sensitive palates than mine, if my roommate’s reaction is any judge.  It took a lot of willpower not to hoard them for ourselves, I tell you.  Fortunately we knew at least two friends who wanted to get in on the vegan Halloween madness, and we managed to get the rest of the cupcakes to Chipotle without inhaling them all.  The giveaway started slowly.  But my awesome roommate stuck by, handing out napkins and copies of the recipe (yes, Isa & Terry, if you’re reading this, I gave away your recipe — but I cited you!), and within an hour, we had three little cupcakes left from the original 2 dozen I’d made.  One kind man even gave us a $5 donation.  We met a nice family of tourists, and two actors from the local theater down the street.  And we saw lots of amusing costumes.  This may have to become a regular occurence.

Whew!  It’s been a loooong time since I did a cupcake recipe review — hope it was worth the wait.

Many of you are no doubt familiar with the old story, “Stone Soup.”  In the tale, a group of reluctant villagers eventually create a soup together, bit by bit, in order to help feed some hungry travelers.  In doing so, they learn to open themselves up to the strangers in their midst through the selfless act of sharing.  

It is an old chestnut that one might look at the world as a village.  At Thanksgiving time, especially, it is important to reflect on all the things we have in our country—even when we’ve recently learned to focus on our shortfalls—and turn our minds to the hungry and needy here and abroad.  In doing so, we might see ourselves as a potential donor of one of the Ingredients needed for some much-needed stone soup: “Care for others and the world.”

This ingredient describes the way that we might choose to participate in community and world outreach—in what many churches refer to as their “Missions” component.  Missions includes things like a Walkathon for a children’s summer camp, a food pantry, soup kitchen, local or world disaster relief organizations (providing such things as school supplies, hand-made quilts and health kits), Fair Trade Coffee, projects in Africa, a college campus Food-Not-Bombs Freeganism initiative, and so on. Of course this idea is not limited to churches, but I do believe that there is an important reason for working together on these initiatives.

Here’s a thought. While we can imagine doing this type of outreach ourselves, singularly, when we do this together as a group we’re more powerful—both spiritually and materially.

Here’s a fact. Sometimes when we act alone to help others, we consciously or subconsciously get into a “siege mentality”—believing that we’re living inside a tiny fortress with a forbidding world outside.

In that instance, though we give to others, to a degree we remain worried about our own personal time, resources and personal finances. We worry that we are not setting aside enough for our own future need. Thus, we continue storing up unused goods and funds and girding ourselves against strangers. We bury our ‘talents,’ in a manner of speaking.

When we do this in some ways we are like the Stone Soup villagers whose first reaction to the itinerant men was to shut their doors, ears and hearts to the poor and needy.

However, when we realize that we are not just acting for today, but that—together as a world—we are busy building a better place here on earth, then we become aware that those who we imagined to exist on the other side of our door are actually on the inside, members of our same loving community.

To realize this is to understand the poignant wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi, spoken so many years ago: It is in giving that we receive.

For, indeed, when we share our time and resources—our ‘talents’—we are really opening a connection with others in our world community, to our own brothers and sisters.

I like to think of it in this very tangible way:

When I give food to my local Open Door Pantry, for example, I may be taking food out of my cupboard, leaving a temporary space in there—but even so—I’m never afraid that my own family will go hungry.  WHY?

First, because I know that I am doing the right thing by feeding those who are hungry NOW.  That food is worth so much more in their empty bellies than it is in my storehouse.  That’s a very comforting feeling.

But, moreover, I know very well that someday I might find myself in their shoes.  And, if I ever did get to the point where I had a bare cupboard and hungered, I have faith that the Open Door would be there for me—ready to return the favor—stocked by folks just like me who gave because they believe in spreading the wealth here on earth.

The example can be multiplied a hundredfold: think about that winter coat you don’t wear anymore, or the toys your kids don’t play with, or even those 10 extra inches of hair!  (My eldest daughter and I gleefully shared the latter “kindest cut” side-by-side in a salon last year.)

In giving, we invest in the others in our community who are currently on the down cycle of fate’s ever-turning wheel.

In giving, we remember that even when things are going well in our home—when we’re on the ascent in the world—there are others who are hungering and thirsting—literally or metaphorically.  Such as the people of Wunlang, South Sudan for whom I’ve worked and written about building a new water well.

In closing, this is why we should work together to build a better world, stone by stone, here and now, with hand, heart and all the resources given us.  For, we are our brothers’ keepers and when we do justice to the least of us, truly we cause great joy and healing.

just saw Grizzly Bear but they already replaced the letters

Fall is the best season to seed lawns because the climate is mild enough to give the grass a start, and not so wet as spring which washes the seed away.  I nurture the castle turf of the rich and famous, reminiscing about my own corner lot in Knoxville where my varied grass blend appears mangled and chewed  before it dies in the heat of July.  None compares to the miniature fescue forests I am in charge of now; not one weed or brown patch remains for yes, I am lawn master (or “Levon the technician” as I write on the bill).

Yacht clubs and suburbia make me miss Old North Knoxville with its dogwoods and Victorian charm.  Empty beaches mean summer is gone, and soon the people will be in Appalachia to see the colors of old mountains.

I’ve had the priviledge by my brother in law to join an elite list of banquet caterers at the Silver Palate.  Of the 25 or so scattered individuals that file in for these weekend events, almost every guy there is a friend of Dustin’s and go to a church here called Wave. We try and be a serious wait staff, but always keep each other in on where the accessible food is, who is hilarious to watch on the dance floor, and the best practices for getting the heck out of there as soon as possible.  Our events have ranged from a Korean wedding in a glass cathedral full of origami cranes, an ocean side gay wedding vow renewal (for the marriage sadly had to happen elsewhere), and a Jewish wedding in a synagogue.  As a self titled student of the human condition, I appreciate sharing good times of people at their best with the ones they love most.  There is always good food to take home.  I’m not afraid to bring Tupperware.

In August, we washed up at this beach (an allowable metaphor if you will let me).  Anyway, we had caught a little of our breath on the farm, but had put off our busted state from the short skirmish of a battle against the man and the hipster in New York City.  The fight is not over, for the man has power as the hipster has cool; but we have a little bit of money.  Enough money, in fact, to properly release my CD which formerly was a burned copy and a custom album drawing with a Sharpie by Ashley.  Friends think that’s neat.  But the industry, the man, and the hipster need gloss finish and a bar code (okay, the hipster likes the matte finish).

By the end of November I plan on releasing two CDs at once.  The first one I recorded last December and never could put it out.  The second is my New York EP.  December was piano and jazz, the new one is acoustic guitars with a sort of quirky keyboard laden and electronic, country feel.  It’s very genre unspecific, loosely Americana but vaguely urban and beachy.  Sort of like a Kentucky boy singing of home and Manhattan, his final thoughts given by toes in the sand.  Both of the projects are things I really needed to say, and getting it said has been one of the largest round-about processes of life I could have imagined.  They will be on iTunes and amazon and in my trunk, all in November.

More on that to come.  Tomorrow night Ashley is showing at an event in downtown Norfolk at the Warehouse in W. Ghent.  Her work will also be up at Bad Ass Coffee on the oceanfront all November.  I have a show at the Boot in Ghent on Nov 7th.

Seeding season is almost over so I won’t have to write blogs at 6 in the morning if I’m going to write them.  I missed you.

more on this soon

So I wish to start off saying I love Food Not Bombs, they have fed me and my comrades many a time in many a city. It is awesome too see people coming together for the love of food and feeding people outside of the capitalist system. However it is not without flaws. Some groups know all of this already and probably have already implemented this but some have not and it is always useful too share tips. These have all come through experience and conversations with various people in and out of FNB. It is out of pure love that I write this and it is not directed at anyone or any chapter unless they need some help. Also this can be useful for any large cooking experience and if there is something I forgot please write it as a comment and who knows it might just get added to the list

P: Bland or underseasoned or overseasoned food
S: taste your food as you cook it if it needs more seasoning add it , obviously don’t make it too spicy or anything like that but make it edible. Know your spices as well, here is a easy little spice guide I found.

P: Food arrives late or there is not enough people to cook it the day of

S: Best thing to do is cook or at least prepare some stuff the day before or earlier and if need be you can partially cook it and freeze it or if your really in a jam just cook it and then reheat. Also get a chart of people who can do it and always look for new people, get phone numbers or emails and find out who can make it.

P: Preparation is slow or sloppy

S: Take a cooking class or find someone to do a cooking skillshare or just practice practice practice. Once you learn proper technique you will be able to go a lot faster and safer leading to a better outcome.

P: Food is undercooked or overcooked

S: Regularly test the food for doneness, cook at a lower temp. (I have seen FNB’s where people crank up the heat to high or way more than it should be and sometimes it gets left alone and burns), follow a good recipe from a reliable source, slow down and get a good game plan to start off with. Make sure to also know how long things take too cook this guide can be of some help for dried legumes

P: Cops are harassing you

S: Bring some of your favorite green hatted buddies from NLG as well as camera’s and lawyers and know the law’s in your city if need be get a permit (yeah yeah fuck permits but people need food and the government and corporations don’t want us to share it for free or give it away for free) You might also consider holding it out of someone’s house or a community space and letting houseless folks and other poor folks and whoever else might be interested know when and where.

P: Dining Wear

S: do what Denver does and get some cheap  reusable plastic plates and utensils from the local mega mart (or wherever) and get three buckets one with water one with soap and water and one with bleach and water (or suitable sanitizing alternative) that way you aren’t putting anything into the landfill and you always have plates and they are easily reusable and cheaper than repeatedly buying plastic and paper. Or if you are really awesome set up a pottery class and get folks from the community too make plates and cups and such and reuse those. It could give homeless people an awesome skill and pride that the plates they eat on however many times a week or month they might eat on them where made by them for the community (which of course should include them)

P: Clean up

S: Clean up as you go and try and figure out how many things you really need to make what you are making if you do a one pot meal that will save you some clean time. Also get folks who can too clean up while others serve it is a perfect way to get various schedules worked in too FNB.

P:  Transportation

S: Find out who has transportation and figure out which ones can do it which weeks or days. Also consider getting a cart for a bike and figure out a way to transport via bike. Also try and talk to churches and colleges as they might be willing to help out.

P: Cooking Space

S: If you cannot do it at a house or community space then try asking a church or synagogue or other religious space (sure some of us are not religious but it could be a free space with help) Be friendly and explain what you are doing and in many cases they will be open and even willing to help with food, donations, transportation, volunteers and who knows what else. Always try and have a central space where food is cooked at and preferably have a space to store food their as well. If you cannot find a space then consider foods that do not need any preparation like fresh fruits and veggies and bread.

P: Things are falling apart and people are losing interest.

S: have meetings and get together and figure out your plans, have them regularly and keep people excited with other activities like setting up benefit shows or designing flyers or being a legal observer if need be. Also keep it regular without taking on too much. Don’t be afraid to ask for help either…some places might be willing to donate various items especially food.

A few other suggestions:

Get decent pots and pans and knives. A dull knife is no good for cutting (except your fingers) and a old crusty rusty pot isn’t going to help much either. As I said before ask for donations and also figure out a budget.

Learn about the people you are feeding regularly. Figure out what they like to eat, what they can and cannot eat and build menu’s that keep everyone happy and healthy. Also use it so you generally know about how much too cook

If you can also think about providing soap and toothbrushes and blankets and other needed items for those without a home. I know Dr. Bronner’s has donated soap too groups in the past or your local ritzy hotel might have some in their bathrooms and many of us have extra blankets or have crafty friends who can make some. Also consider handing out cool useful zines, give people something to read and expand their minds with as well.

Think about the space you are serving in. Some might have free power in which case you can bring crock pots and water heaters, no more cold food or hot water sloshing around in the car.

Also if you have the time, money and drive try something awesome like the SAME Cafe in denver. It is a really bad-ass idea that incorporates a lot of what we already do into a possibly more sustainable way for us as you have the cooking and serving space in the same space plus it can garner more attention…obviously it lacks that direct action take it too the streets ideas but it is awesome. Though I would keep it vegan so nobody has too suffer.

A big shout out too all the FOOD NOT BOMBS (check it out for more info) around the world keep up what ya doing (obviously with any needed changes) and as always

EAT YER VEGGIES

Vegun

PS: if you need recipe help post a comment I would love too help.

food not bombs

My Documentary We Need Food Not Bombs (SUBHUMANS IN THE SOUNDTRACK!!)

Is scheduled on Free Speech TV

October 30th:

11:30 AM

October 31st:

4:30 AM

7:30 AM

5:30 PM

The cost of Iraq and Afghanistan laid out end-to-end in $100 bills…

…would extend 846,157.6 miles – or just short of 34 times around the Earth’s circumference. (Stat from: The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation)

Man I just need a few of those bills…. Help me out man….I’ll make art not bombs….

 Amanda, myself and our friend Barbara just got back in from our trip to AZ this past Tuesday night (around 12am) and we finally settled in after an awesome adventure! So much neat stuff to share that there’s gonna be a sequel to this post! Here’s my scoop on our Spirit Fest AZ experience. :0)

 We rolled into beautiful Watson Park at around 8am and we were met with many smiling faces (you could tell already it was gonna be a good time). Our first thing to check out was my man AJ’s Chef Demo of his “Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake”. Yep, Raw Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, you gotta expect something unique and delicious from my chocolate alchemist friend! Where else, but in the world of raw foods, can you start your day off with something like that and not feel guilty about it??

AJ Wentworth un-cookin' up some awesome cheesecake!

 Immediately following AJ’s presentation was Chef Nadhirrah with a demo of Raw Food Storage. This was particularly fun for me because I’d always had a passion for living sustainably and living off your own homegrown eats, but after goin’ raw, canning foods went out the window. Nadhirrah shared not only different raw-friendly food storage techniques, but also some delicious recipes that can be made from these saved garden goods such as a Corn Salad, Taco Soup and a delicious dessert she calls Blond Ambition made with sesame seeds, tahini, almond butter and honey! She’s got a cool raw story and books at her website summerbear.org  Really awesome info, not only great for preserving your own garden harvest, but a great way to stock up different fruits and veggies while they’re in season (or on sale!).

The gang from Turtle Lake Refuge doin' some bicycle powered blendin'! www.turtlelakerefuge.org

 After filling up on tasty samples from the recipe demos we took a stroll around the vendors and exhibitors area to see what fun stuff we could find ..and we found a lot!  Food Not Bombs is a great organization who’s mission is to salvage usable food that would otherwise go to waste and redirect it to people in need. They we’re there spreading the word and sharing free plums by the handful, Rock on! Many of the vendors were givin’ out loads of free samples, from raw organic walnuts to Vitamineral Green on tap! I musta looked like a St. Patrick’s Day partier because I constantly had a cup of some green concoction in hand as Amanda, Barbara and I strolled about the event. Among the neat stuff being offered we’re eco-friendly re-usable bamboo cutlery (which Amanda couldn’t resist getting us each a set of), beautiful and whimsical artwork, handcrafted clothes, and even locally grown mesquite meal. Mesquite meal (often found in the raw world in the form of Peruvian Mesquite powder) is the pulverized fruit pod of the famous BBQ flavoring tree (the bark is for the BBQ the powdered fruit for freakin’ delicious raw desserts!). This stuff lends a caramel-like taste to smoothies and raw desserts and packs quite a bit of healthy goodness as well! It was really neat to be able to pick some up direct from the grower(the Arizona Mesquite Company)!

Check out this outrageous deep sea fish lamp created by David El Romo! www.davidelromo.com

 Back at the demo chef area (I mean c’mon where else are ya gonna find me? I know where the goodies are.) I caught Elaina Love’s awesome demo of her Super Ninja Roll (gotta love that name!) which is a big ‘ol nori wrapped sammich of a sushi roll filled with fresh veggies and a nut and seed based pate with a spicy mustard sauce (*droool*). Elaina not only rocked out this dish, but also a salad dressing and her chocolate/maca bliss balls! Great stuff!

Elaina Love took a moment from running her awesome food stand to snap a photo with me :0)

 As if the recipes couldn’t get more fun and tasty, our friends’ Chrissy and Joel whipped up one of the most ridiculously good raw renditions of a cooked comfort food I’ve ever tasted. Their creation “Fiesta Mac” was so close in flavor to mac and cheese that my taste buds did a double take! Amazing stuff! The recipe for this wonderful concoction can be found in their ebook “Regenerative Eating”, along with many other cool recipes! Amanda and I had the pleasure of being introduced to Chrissy and Joel at the Spirit Fest in DC by Jody Allen and it was great getting a chance to hang with them again, super nice couple with a really intelligent and wholistic approach to health. We’re gearing up to make some of their freakin’ awesome Fiesta Mac this week!

Ram's dishing out some great information and some tasty poha!

 The coolness kept coming as later in the evening we got to hear a talk about the Indian approach to Raw Foodism from Ramalingham Govindaraj. He asserts that he is not a health or nutrition professional, but despite his modesty this man’s knowledge of raw food nutrition and the chemical composition of foods and their correlation to good health on a raw diet was immense! He shared a wealth of info and an amazing recipe demo of a sweet poha(poha is rice that has been heated to about 140 degrees F and squished flat). The poha, which comes bagged and can be found in Indian grocery stores, is soaked in water to soften and was then mixed with freshly grated coconut (oh yes!) and was sweetened with Jaggery(a healthier alternative to refined sugar, also available in Indian grocers). This concoction, although it wouldn’t pass raw purists approval, was amazingly tasty and satisfying! The following day Ram did another food demo where he made a spicy poha, again using the squished rice, but to this adding fresh squeezed oj, diced green onions and green chilis, a lil’ salt and loads of freshly grated coconut. So freakin’ tasty! Definetly check out ramsankar.com for a wealth of great info on the raw food diet, recipes and other topics such as yoga and meditation!

This lil' hand cranked coconut grinder is a common tool for raw foodies in India and is definetly on my Christmas list!

 Sunday, we were kinda racing about to get everything ready for my recipe demo, but we did have some more time to meander about the festival that morning and listen to some amazing info from Brian Clement and a panel of health gurus. After which Amanda got a chance to meet Brian, who really is a great example of what healthy eating and raw foods can do for you! At 61 he looks like a healthy person in their early forties. We were lookin’ at the pic of Brian and Amanda (who’s only in her late twenties) and they looked they could be a couple! *lol* I better watch  out!  :0)

Brian Clement and Amanda....should I be worried? :0)

Demo'ing my BBQ Portabella Burger and havin' fun with the crowd! :0D

I cranked out my BBQ Portobello Burger for the crowd (and a couple of hungry dogs who didn’t appreciate the sweet music of the vita-mix). I love sharing my recipes and info and had a great time talking with the crowd and answering questions. Then I turned the stage over to Laurel Anderson . Laurel Anderson has been rockin’ the raw scene on the west coast and her raw chili has even won out in a chili cook-off! Now if that doesn’t say somethin’ about her culinary skills I don’t know what could! She whipped up a chocolate cream pie filling that was so freakin’ good I had to later seek out her restaurant’s booth at the event and pick up a piece for Amanda and myself!

Big Daddy tossing together some delicious fruit salad! :0)

 Later that evening we watched a fruit salad recipe demo from Dr Bernardo Lapallo. Dr. Bernado “Big Daddy” Lappalo is a living testament of the power of healthy living . At 108 he’s articulate, funny and vibrant! Amanda, Barbara and myself were inspired and touched to hear him rockin’ out his presentation and telling it like it is! Check out his Book “Age less/Live more: Achieving Health and Vitality at Age 107 and Beyond” to learn more about his tips and techniques on ideal health!

I even ran into my friend Revvell Revati of Rawkin Raw Radio and Lets Talk Raw! I've done a couple talks with her on www.letstalkraw.com and it's always a blast! :0D

 There were many more presentations, some of which I didn’t get a chance to check out! But I had a blast and it was great meeting up with some friends from the West Side! Peace, love and rawness everyone! And rock on Raw Spirit Crew!! :0D

We Need Food Not Bombs is going to be on Free Speech TV starting October 19th from 12-1230AM. Check the listings and where you can watch it on the FSTV web page.

When I set out to hitchhike across America in August, I packed the absolute smallest number of items I could possibly get away with, which included food. In order to travel as lightly as possible, I decided to forgo the majority of cooking tools and amenities and instead opted for a small selection of dried goods, some disposable utensils that I stole from the food court at Whole Foods, and a metal cup measure that I could use as a bowl.

I tried to choose foods that would be the most lightweight, but also calorically dense (or at least really filling). I chose, a plastic jar of peanut butter, ten luna bars of varying flavors, a small bag of raw oats, and the contents of several freeze-dried soup cups emptied into individual ziplock bags. I chose a combination of black bean, split pea, and lentil. Even the jankiest of gas stations will still have a hot water dispenser attached to their coffee machine which can be used to rehydrate soups and oatmeal.

I went the first 2 weeks of my trip without setting foot inside a grocery store. Breakfast was usually scavenged from whichever home I was staying in (surprisingly, I didn’t end up sleeping outside ever), and failing that, I would either cook up some oats, or smear peanut butter on one of the energy bars. That is usually what lunch looked like too. Dinner was always different and completely dependent on my location.

In several towns, I was able to sleuth out the location and time of the nearest Food Not Bombs. For those of you unfamiliar with FNB, it’s an international organization made up of thousands of chapters whose sole goal is to take donated or dumpstered food and turn it into free, communal vegan meals for anyone who shows up. FNB is active in varying degrees in most every major city (and a ton of minor ones, especially those with colleges) and is always a reliable source of a hot meal for the homeless traveler. The wherabouts of any FNB chapter can usually be found by stopping into any collective/anarchist bookstore or coffeeshop, asking homeless people or crust punks you may see around town, or by visiting this website and finding your location.

The other option for free food* is dumpster diving. Most stores that sell food have dedicated “food” dumpsters where they deposit anything that doesn’t sell quickly enough, or exhibits any possible signs of age. The dedicated dumpsters mean your food never touches a single bag of bathroom trash, or other gross waste that may have come from inside the store. In all my time spent inside dumpsters, I have rarely found food that I would consider to be inedible. I have almost exclusively been treated to perfectly ripe produce (Trader Joes even packs theirs in celophane!), and tons of packaged dried goods, juices, soups, alternative milks, and snacks.

For some reason, some stores have started locking or hiding their dumpsters to prevent people from accessing that which has been assigned a value of zero. Curious.

There are many creative ways to get around this (with varying degrees of legality and difficulty) but one of the best I’ve found, is actually asking some of the employees in the produce department if there is any waste for that day that might be available. I’ve had people leave food for me in secret locations, and even hand me stuff off the shelves. America!!

Another trick I found was discovering free public events where food was going to be provided and then crashing them. For me, this included breakfast at a bike punk conference in Minneapolis, tons of bread and snacks from a hotel buffet in Missoula, and a Chinese cultural festival in DC. Opportunities for the advantageous scavenger are everywhere.

If you’re not one for clandestine activity, there is still a lot of actually nutritious vegan food that can be had for ultra cheap, even in tiny gas stations in Miles City, North Dakota. I favored salted pumpkin seeds, trail mix, saltines, wheat thins, and TONS of apples, oranges, and bananas which seem to be the only three fruits officially acknowledged by the petroleum industry.

You may notice the deep chasm in my road diet where fresh fruits and vegetables should be, which is something I really struggled with. Occasionally, I would stop in a store and pick up some hummus and veggies, and possibly some fruit that I could eat immediately. Without any way to store fresh stuff, it was really a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I found I was able to get a lot of vegetables into the meals I would share with people I stayed with, but if I were doing this trip over, I would make a point of getting some fruit each day and saving it for the following morning just to cram as much real food into my diet as possible. I mean, I could eat corn nuts and black coffee exclusively, but then I’d look like one of those haggard vegans you wish would stop giving veganism a bad rap by eating garbage. Just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean you should eat it.

The only commodity I consistently didn’t scrimp on was water. I drank tons, and tons of water. I brought my metal Sigg bottle and filled it every possible chance I got. I find that even if I’ve been eating poorly, it doesn’t affect my mood or energy the way dehydration does.

I mentioned that I often shared meals with the people I stayed with which was a great way to connect and offer something to them in return for their hospitality. I understand that some people may fear that their veganism would be a burden on anyone who may be generous enough to provide food for them. I rode through Pennsylvania with a truck driver who was kind enough to offer to buy me dinner. At the truck stop restaurant we came to, I was able to find a garden salad, steamed vegetables, and a baked potato. I know it can be uncomfortable turning down free food that isn’t vegan, but I find most people are understanding when I tell them that I’m ok. This is why it is absolutely essential to have a constant stash of your own food no matter what. Never get into a situation where you have to depend on someone else to feed you or provide anything that you need. This is out of safety and also common sense – people make bad decisions when they’re hungry or desperate. Keep it together.

I am sure I have tons more knowledge to bestow everyone with, but this is the basic outline of my life as a broke, homeless vegan. No excuses.

xoxo
Reno

*This account doesn’t acknowledge the role that shoplifting might play in one person’s quest for sustenance. I can fully appreciate every attempt to occupy what we might call extra-legal territory, but I’m not about to get myself on some FBI tracking list for discussing it on Teh Internetz. You’re on your own.

Along with colorful leaves falling around us, temperatures are also starting to drop a little bit.
As the weather continues to cool down and the harvest season ends, we’ll be receiving smaller quantities of fresh produce so we want to make sure it is known that we greatly appreciate any canned or dried good donations. Canned vegetables and dried beans and other foodstuff allows us to keep on making a delicious, vegan hot soup throughout the cold months. Canned fruits are especially appreciated as they can be harder to come during winter time for us and many other folks. Of course we would love to receive more fresh produce, if you know of a food business that would be interested in donating to us or if you have a surplus of produce from your own garden, we would love to talk to you more about it!
We also try to provide warm clothing for those who may not have the means to acquire them elsewhere. Anything like jackets, coats, scarfs, gloves, hats, blankets would be great and makes a world of a difference for the person who uses them.

Check out the Get Involved link to see a full wish list of items that help feed multiple dozens of folks each week! Feel free to stop by on a Monday to drop off any donations and say hi, or e-mail us if that is a time-conflict for you.

Take care, keep warm, peace!