FOOD FACTS

To begin, I would like to thank Mr. Andy Grabel and the Flagpole for their interest in and coverage of Athens Food Not Bombs. Mr. Grabel's article, "Food Not Bombs, Garden Nourishes" [City Pages, July 7], highlights the efforts made by a growing number of local activists to address the illogical coexistence of food waste and food insecurity. However, as a supporter of the Food Not Bombs movement, I feel compelled to make several important corrections to Mr. Grabel's piece, if only to ensure that those who may be interested in the work of Food Not Bombs are not misled.

Beginning with the most basic error, the Sunday serving time for Food Not Bombs was not listed correctly. The Sunday meal is served at 1:30 p.m., not 12 noon. The time for the Wednesday meal (6:30 p.m.) was printed correctly; both meals are served in College Square across from Barnett's.

Next, when Mr. Grabel states in his article that, "this grassroots organizational structure makes it difficult for FNB to receive government funding or grants," he implies that Food Not Bombs would be interested in securing this type of funding, and somehow our structure is holding us back. This is not the case. Food Not Bombs is a revolutionary movement based on the notion that food is a right, not a privilege. Food Not Bombs is not a 501 C-3 non-profit organization, nor does it aim for such status. In fact, Food Not Bombs rarely deals with money at all, purchasing the small amount of supplies we need (generally reusable plates and forks) from donations gathered during meals.

Another potentially confusing section of the article relates to the businesses that donate to Food Not Bombs. Early in his piece, Mr. Grabel states that the University of Georgia contributes to the efforts of Food Not Bombs. While I am personally aware that the University does donate a large amount of surplus food to the ACTION, Inc. Full Plate Program, a local food rescue and redistribution effort, they do not donate to Food Not Bombs.

An additional point regarding donors involves my being quoted as saying the "as long as stores are making a profit, they don't give a shit what they throw away." I fear this remark may have been chosen for its shock value, and in any case was taken out of context and deserves some amount of explanation. While I believe it is true that many businesses are forced to view profit as the ultimate indicator of success, it is also true that waste, particularly food waste, is troublesome to nearly all who witness it. Many community-minded businesses do donate leftover or surplus food items to programs or agencies, and many more may wish to but do not have the knowledge that such options exist. Currently, Food Not Bombs receives generous donations from the following establishments: EarthFare, Daily Co-op, Big City Bread, Phoenix Market and Full Moon Farms. As the article correctly states, securing adequate food is never a problem for Athens Food Not Bombs, and we are grateful to these establishments for their support of food as a human right.

Donors make the work of Food Not Bombs possible, and it is the presence of this surplus food that compels us to take action: collecting, cooking and serving that which would be otherwise wasted. This leads me to the misrepresented connection between Food Not Bombs and the Odd Street Community Garden. The garden (which, incidentally, is about a 20 by 20 foot space, not a "several acre plot," as stated in the article) was not established to make Food Not Bombs "less reliant on outside support," as Mr. Grabel suggests. The connection between the two is purely personal: many of the folks that participate in Food Not Bombs also participate in the Community Garden, and if extra produce is available, Food Not Bombs will make certain it is not wasted. Food Not Bombs does not aim to become "self-sufficient" in the way implied by Mr. Grabel's article; on the contrary, utilizing existing community resources that are being overlooked is the core of the Food Not Bombs mission.

Finally, I spoke at length with Mr. Grabel as he conducted his research for his article. We spoke about my involvement in the food rescue movement, including, but not limited to my volunteering with Food Not Bombs. Several other projects and dreams were discussed. I can only assume it was from one of these conversations that Mr. Grabel concluded that a farm in Oglethorpe County would be donating to Food Not Bombs. Food Not Bombs does not currently have a relationship with any such donor.

If you would like to learn more about the Food Not Bombs movement, a helpful website is www.foodnotbombs.net. Or you can come down to College Square any Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. or Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Sarah Himmelheber
Athens

FLOODGATES OF FEAR

Republican Congressman Norwood, the politics of fear is doing very well these days, isn't it? Your recent activist letter to the Flagpole (August 4) regarding your support for the federal Marriage Protection Act reveals the flood of fear you hope will wash away resistance to your fear mongering. Perhaps "activist" only applies to people who don't agree with you. Guess that makes me an activist. I am not convinced that marriage is endangered because of gays, lesbians and transgendered people. (I'll call them Q.) However, the separation of church and state is definitely threatened. Is erosion of that separation your real agenda?

The Q are not planning societal domination, which is more than can be said for you and your cohorts. Also, the Q condition is not at all contagious, as say, smallpox or tuberculosis; the fear you spread is a contagion. Q people are not inviting you to shut yourself in a closet and lie about who you are, but you're inviting them to do just that. They are not trying to justify mangling the constitutions of state and country to favor their status, as you seem intent on doing.

You would like to discriminate against a segment of our population that is unlike you. The Q are human too, capable of being selfless contributors to this society, fully cognizant of what it means to be outcast and despised. They retain more dignity than you show, and a sense of humor to boot. Some of them may even be, dare I say it, Christian. If you really wanted to contribute to a democracy, there are numerous other arenas in which to launch the activism of your convictions. I have included just two below.

Poverty. Don't like to look at it? Don't want to acknowledge it except from behind affluence and "tough love?" No one chooses to be poor. Yet it is common to find the myth inhaled that the poor prefer handouts to honest work. Homogenize all poor people and you can justify any social policy that punishes them. Tough love is the hypocrisy that ensures that rich people and corporations don't have to pay their share of taxes. There is no real love in "tough love," only condescension.

Resegregation. In the middle 1900s, this country struggled to face the consequences of making chattel out of human beings. Lots of activism changed the laws. Those laws countered the will of many who considered slavery to be a "tradition" too. Laws cannot change hearts and minds. Remnants of racism live underground still. Resegregation, whether by race or economic class, is a sad and vicious reality. Talking about unity is one thing. Working across racial and economic boundaries is quite another. Talk is cheap, but it becomes even cheaper in election years. A real blue light special.

The introduction of homogeneity seldom resolves any human problem. Democracy homogenized is not a democracy. Using public office to promote bigotry is prideful. And deliberately using fear is cynical and manipulative. Democracy constantly attacked by fear will lead to fascism, or something equally unsavory. Discrimination in our Constitution has been amended at great cost. Reintroducing it is not going to alter this document for the better. If you're inclined to amend something, why not erase the parts of your scriptures that speak of acceptance and compassion? They appear to inconvenience you. You can edit them out and call it interpretation. This is a daily devotional exercise for many.

Indulge in the politics of fear and you engender violence. Fear of people of Middle Eastern descent, fear of African-American males, fear of competent women, fear of the Q, fear, fear, fear. Your fear is destructive and you use it willfully. Do not hijack this democracy. Break down the dam of fear and flush those waters out, please. I wish you humility and wisdom.

M. Pereira
Athens

FREE PRESS

I picked up a copy of your paper at my friend's sandwich shop and read your article "Is Bush Crazy." A better question would be is the person writing the article crazy and what agenda is he pushing. You can only feel sad for someone like this.

P.S. We threw all the copies of the Flagpole in the trash basket.

John Christian
Athens

RESPECT RIVERS

Thanks for carrying Ben Emanuel's article on his recent Georgia river expeditions. It's a joy to find aspiring naturalists and writers taking an educated interest in the riparian habitats of a state so historically and currently defined by its rivers. Let us hope that their efforts help correct the prevailing ignorance of our state's rich natural heritage. This unfortunate "blind spot" in public education cannot but foster the casual damage done to our state by development policies and models which give precedence to private fortune over public health and welfare. If our public institutions do not insist and enforce established law and guidelines for the defense and preservation of our waterways, then the survey that these young men have made of them will become just another testimonial of loss. Those temporarily honored with the public trust are accountable. Georgians must demand that our rivers are healthy and safe for the sake of the wildlife which intimately depends on them, the citizens who fish them and the children who swim them. These local river scouts witnessed a long established riparian culture that deserves our interest and concern, as it holds much of the particular love of place, something easily lost in more suburban states of mind. Allow me to express a very public gratitude for the work done and for your efforts to share what you have found. A public fortified with a knowledge of our state's natural heritage is more apt to question and challenge policies that damage this common wealth.

Steve Scurry
Oconee Forks

HORRIBLY TACKY

I take offense with Bunny McIntosh's review of the 63 Crayons CD in the Aug 4 issue. Yes, music criticism is a completely opinionated affair, however, I find the timing of the review to be horribly tacky. They are newcomers to our bustling music scene, and the PopFest show is their first well-publicized outing since moving here. Such negative press on the eve of such an important event seems extremely discouraging.

I would barely call myself an acquaintance of the members of 63 Crayons, yet in my limited interactions I can safely say they lack any of the air of pretense that can be occasionally smelled when walking down Washington St. Their live shows are spastic, full of young charisma, and highly recommended by me. They make me believe that good psych-pop will never truly die in this town.

Bunny, if you can't say anything nice… at least wait until they have had a chance to prove themselves instead of giving Flagpole readers such a harsh first impression.

Effie Greathouse
Athens