In 1980 eight antinuclear activists participated in the May 24th Occupation Attempt of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant site in New Hampshire. During this direct action these eight volunteers agreed to take the effort to build a nuclear free future to Boston, Massachusetts. The Food Not Bombs movement was born.

Food Not Bombs volunteers met in New York City during the Republican National Convention protests. We agreed to call for a weekend of action on May 28 and 29, 2005. We talked about how inspirational it will be for people in our communities to learn that our movement has been feeding the hungry and protesting against war and poverty for 25 years and that there are hundreds of autonomous groups all over the world. We hope that all Food Not Bombs groups will organize actions in their own community. Maybe a tent city in a park, squat a building, hold a Soupstock free concert and share vegan food with everyone that attends. We are sure your group will have some great ideas. Let everyone know. We had world wide Food Not Bombs Gatherings in 1992, 1995 and 1996. It was inspiring to meet Food Not Bombs volunteers from all over the world. Over 75 people from about a dozen chapters participated in the 1992 Gathering in San Francisco. That gathering culminated in the protests against 500 Years of European Occupation on Columbus Day. In 1995 over 600 people participated in the Food Not Bombs Gathering held during the 50 th Anniversary celebration of the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco. There were hundreds of arrests for serving free food and protesting against human rights violations. We also had a micro powered radio station, marches, workshops on consensus decision making, gender relations, puppet makings, vegan cooking for 100, building FM radio transmitters and preparation for future actions. Our gathering played an important role in the 50th anniversary of the UN high lighting human rights violations in the United States. The Gathering at the Atlanta Olympics held build the Food Not Bombs movement in the south east. Here are some items we might want to address at the 25th Anniversary Food Not Bombs Gathering in Philadelphia.

• What types of actions can our global network take on the same day or week for peace and justice?
• Can we organize a tour to help build our movement?
• Should we have regular yearly gatherings?
• Can we use consensus better to make our decisions ?
• Are there things we can do to keep from getting burned out?
• Can we organize a system for making decisions between groups?
• Can we help start more Food Not Bombs groups and organize united actions using our global network more effectively?
• What kinds of skills should we share?

Please visit to sign up for the organizing email list and send us your ideas and comments on organizing the 25 Anniversary Tour