[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 101 (Thursday, July 19, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1371]]



                  IN HONOR OF FOOD NOT BOMBS CLEVELAND

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 19, 2001

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Food Not Bombs 
Cleveland for the significant contribution that organization is making 
in Ohio's 10th Congressional District and the Greater Cleveland area.
  Like other Congressional Districts around the country, my district 
has severe and significantly problems with hunger. This problem is 
prevalent among those who have places to live and those who do not.
  Food Not Bombs Cleveland operates on the principle that society and 
government should value human life over material wealth. Many of the 
problems in the world stem from this simple crisis in values.
  By giving away free food to people in need in public spaces, such as 
Cleveland's Public Square every Sunday afternoon since January 1996, 
Food Not Bombs Cleveland directly dramatizes the level of hunger in 
this country and the surplus of food being wasted. Food Not Bombs 
Cleveland also calls attention to the failure of our society to support 
those within it while amply funding the forces of war and violence.
  Food Not Bombs Cleveland is part of an informal network, Food Not 
Bombs, which was formed in Boston in 1980 as an outgrowth of the anti-
nuclear movement in New England. Food Not Bombs Cleveland is committed 
to the use of non-violent direct action to change society. It is by 
working today to create sustainable institutions that prefigure the 
kind of society we want to live in, that Food Not Bombs Cleveland works 
to bring a vital and caring movement for progressive social change.
  Food Not Bombs serves food as a practical act of sustaining people 
and organizations, not as symbolism. Thousands of meals are served each 
week by Food Not Bombs groups in North America and Europe. The meals 
served by Food Not Bombs Cleveland each week are vegetarian, donated by 
Cleveland-area grocers such as the Food Coop, the Web of Life, Panera 
Bakery, and vendors at Cleveland's West Side Market, prepared by 
volunteers, and are shared with anyone who wants to participate.
  It is at these weekly gatherings that information is shared by 
participants on all issues of significance, from available resources 
for survival on and off the streets to how to make positive non-violent 
change in our society. Since many of the participants in Food Not Bombs 
Cleveland are living on either side of the edge of homelessness, there 
is much information gathered and shared that is useful to the 
participants.
  For instance, it is at these gatherings that the Northeast Ohio 
Coalition for the Homeless distributes its ``Street Card,'' detailing 
all social services available to both the homeless, the formerly 
homeless, and those at risk of becoming homeless. Participants share 
information about their own experience with social services resources, 
both as users and providers of such services. Thus, Food Not Bombs 
Cleveland operates as an important networking tool for those in need of 
social services that help those in need.
  I am proud of the work that Food Not Bombs Cleveland accomplishes 
through its free public meals, by drawing attention to the hunger and 
homelessness crisis in America, and by using direct, non-violent means 
toward helping resolve these crises. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognition of Food Not Bombs Cleveland the national Food Not Bombs 
network.

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