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Resource Report - 38 Olympia Food Not Bombs · Resource Report

0:20
Hello and welcome to Resource Report, where we
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share with you important information about local
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nonprofits and resource organizations that support
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the community we share, produced by Pathways
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to Agency. I am your host, Rainmaker. Today,
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we are meeting with three members of our local
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chapter of Food Not Bombs here in Olympia. Please
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welcome Bobby, B, and L. I am here at KAOS
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Radio Station with members of Olympia Food Not
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Bombs chapter. And today we have with us Bobby,
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L, and B. How are you doing today, guys?
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We're doing amazing. How are you? I'm great.
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It's been a great start with you guys. Happy
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to be here. Thank you. Yeah, nice to meet you.
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Nice to meet you. And can you please reintroduce
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yourselves, your position with Olympia Food Not
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Bombs, and how did you come to be here with this
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organization? Okay, my name is Bobby. I have
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been helping Food Not Bombs for three summers
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now. I started in June of 2024. My position is
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pretty much help how I can. I help with Cooks,
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I help with Distros, I help with transporting
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goods and picking up supplies when needed. When
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I joined Food Not Bombs in 2024, I had just left
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my regular job and I was doing child care for
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the people I live with, which was so important
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for me to have the capacity to be able to be
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involved with this kind of work. It was the first
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time I had ever done mutual aid on my own, and
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I showed up at a Cook. I just told this story
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yesterday. I waited for an hour and a half with
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another new person for anybody to show up. And
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then they did! And I have not stopped coming
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since. And I'm so grateful I waited because if
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I had left, I might not have continued trying.
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So it's been really inspiring for me. And I don't
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see a future where I'm not helping in mutual
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aid in some capacity. That's so awesome. Good
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things come to those who wait. How about you,
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L? So my name's L, and I, much like Bobby,
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I also usually help with, like... Cook, sometimes
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Distro, sometimes both, uh, sometimes, like,
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picking up some supplies. I don't have a car,
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so it's a little harder for me sometimes to,
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like, transport supplies, but sometimes I, uh,
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sometimes I get it done. Um, and I've been helping
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out with Olympia Food Not Bombs for, um, I think
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I started in, like, summer 2022, that sounds
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right? So quite a while now, and I've been a
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little sporadic. I've been out of town for some
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of that. But I initially came to Food Not Bombs
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and other mutual aid projects because.. actually
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my therapist suggested that maybe I should find
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some other ways to sort of like engage in like,
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what I believe in, and engage in struggle that
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were not.. quite so traumatizing. And well, actually,
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I started doing some other mutual aid stuff first.
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And then I met some really cool people there
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who happened to be doing Food Not Bombs. And
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they were like, you should come help out. And
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then I started coming to help out. And it turns
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out that I really like, you know, cooking in
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a group and giving food to people and stuff,
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and it's really helped me grow a lot of skills,
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both in terms of, like, cooking and, like, coordinating
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logistics stuff, but also in terms of, like,
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meeting new people and learning to work with
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them and learning to, like, reach out to people
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and having to sort of be outgoing and get new
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people involved, which are things I'm not very
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naturally inclined to, I would say. But it's
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been really cool to meet so many lovely people
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and learn a lot of things. Oh, that's so wonderful.
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And good for you moving forward with new things.
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Hi, my name is B. And I started Food Not Bombs
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last November. It was actually for Thanksgiving
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Food Not Bombs. And I joined because there was
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just like a lot of like, downfall in my life
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there and I think I just like wanted to like,
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transmute that pain and that sadness to the community,
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like, you know, be productive and so I remember
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I saw an Instagram post. I think it was like, for
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Food Not Bombs and I was like, oh my gosh like
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I love cooking, like, that is a love language within
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my family, so I was like let me use this skill
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set and like help the community and I remember
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I rolled in at the kitchen and I met Bobby who
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really like guided me as one of the members and
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they really showed me the ropes and we cooked
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a huge Thanksgiving feast for the folks and I
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think you know what made me stick with how it's
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so relevant in my life it's because like food
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is a basic right and we should.. everyone should
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have access to it, it shouldn't be a privilege,
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and I think joining this program really drives
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it home, like, how easy it is to create community
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and how important it is to like feed our neighbors
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and be there for each other. For sure, thank
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y'all so much for sharing that, I really appreciate
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it. There is a international Food Not Bombs, and
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so I'm wondering if y 'all have anything that
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you can speak on about that at all. I know that
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there's like, chapters of Food Not Bombs all around
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the world. And I know that it has like some specific
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origin points with some specific people, but
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I think also it functions to sort of think of
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it as perhaps more of a... structure or an idea
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than an organization like each chapter is autonomous
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and sometimes we coordinate with people with
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other chapters for things but mostly like, the
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core of it is the idea of doing this thing of
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like getting food for as free as possible and
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giving it out for free and I think that that
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is... that's the main sort of connecting thing and
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like, as I've been doing Food Not Bombs for a
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few years, I think that it's really powerful
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the way that this idea and structure and activity
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can continue on pretty much unchanged through
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A lot of different people being involved. Yeah!
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And I even had seen on the main website that
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there it's been going on for at least 35 years
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now. And I see that you have like the three principles,
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which would be kind of like the mission, vision
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and goals. One thing we've recently started doing
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is we realize, because we have an Instagram page,
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OlyFNB, there is multiple around the world
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instagram pages for different FNB's... FNB Krakow
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FNB Paris FNB Hilo on the big island of Hawaii.
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It is so fun to see them doing their thing and
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most of them, if not all, are pretty much an like
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the similar image of FNB in a different part
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of the world and it's so inspiring to see that,
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like, just essentially a few little anarchists
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get together and cook some good food and bring
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it to a spot and serve it as best they can. And
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it's honestly really inspiring to see people
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around the world coming together and doing a
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similar thing as us here. I love that so much.
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Thank you. There's a half an hour video. If you
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go to that international site, foodnotbombs .net
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slash new underscore site. You can watch that
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video, and there's this really amazing story where..
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I forgot what country it was in, I don't think
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it was Cambodia, but it was something around
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there where they have like, once a week and they
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meet and they do they do feedings. And the children
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come mostly when they do arts and crafts with
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anybody and they get everybody to do art and
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they share about their art. And it's just like
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this really healing and amazing. Yeah. Cool.
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And so. Coming back to the principles, can you
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share what those three principles are for Olympia
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Food Not Bombs? You know, we believe that everybody
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has a right to being well fed and having food
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and that there's a lot of food in the world that
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goes to waste while a lot of people go hungry.
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that's not right and we can do something about
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it. And it's also based on sort of like an anarchist
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idea of mutual aid, which is like people helping
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out other people in a way that tries to avoid
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hierarchies between like helpers and helped. We
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are donations based, which means we do our best
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to source things without paying for it, that's
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one of our bigger principles. We do our best to
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cook vegan and vegetarian every week, but we will
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cook meat for the residents if needed, and we
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are dedicated to non -violence which is a huge
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thing with Food Not Bombs, like, Food Not Bombs..
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any kind of bombs. I even said fireworks more
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than once yesterday. We don't bother with things
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that promote destruction and violence. We're
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all about peaceful means of working. And beyond
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that, we are non -hierarchical and kind of like
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structureless by design, which structure does
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come about naturally, but we do our best to maintain
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a space for us to just work as a group and come
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to group consensus as much as possible. So you
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were talking about your structure. It could either
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sound very much like a cooperative or as a flat
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board structure, which Pathways to Agency operates
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with. Can you describe your process of your structure?
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Yeah, sure. So, you know, often we will have
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several new people for the first time joining
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a Cook or joining a Distro. I love the idea of
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having it be an open space for new ideas and
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collaborative as literally as much as possible.
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Some of us who have more cooking experience or
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who have done it before will naturally take a
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step back for new ideas, even if we have ideas
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to share. So I think it's really important and
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we have a lot of understanding amongst the group
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that we really are working together to make something
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happen. Not anything that's hierarchical or just
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coming from one person's mind. And we've made
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so much beautiful food. It's amazing. And then
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Distro as well. Sometimes somebody's like, you
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know what? We don't bring this. Why don't we
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bring candles? And it's like, why haven't we
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been bringing candles? Thank you so much for
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that idea. So I think it really revolves around
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the idea of like saving space for everybody in
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the group to contribute because some of the more
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quieter, less confident, softer spoken folks
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will sometimes take a step back as other people
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take the lead. And that can just lead to a bit
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of hierarchy, and I think I really enjoy hearing what so
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many of our folks have to contribute because
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it's a lot. To elaborate with Bobby's explanation,
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so we have a poll, basically. Let's say, for
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example, hey, we want to do a mutual aid party.
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What do we think? Or if there's any publicity
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things, what do we think in our group chat? And
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then we kind of have a poll of yes or no. You
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know, open explanation of like their reasoning
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because we value everyone's opinions and respect
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it, obviously. And from there, we kind of take
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a consensus of like what is majority vote and
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we go from there. So for example, like Cook, too,
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just like, what supplies we have, what recipe
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are we going to make? Like we kind of take a
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poll of like what is easier, what is efficient.
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So it is, yeah, it is a group effort. That's
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awesome. That's awesome. So what does an Olympia
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Food Not Bomb event look like? Like, how do
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y'all coordinate that? So we'd start the logistics
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like, OK, here's a date for, you know, Saturday's
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Cook and we'll put in different roles. So like.
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Bobby has done a lot of the Distro, so Bobby's
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very consistent with that. L has done a lot
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of the harm reduction, so we would need people
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to do Distro, pick up supplies for harm reduction,
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pick up supplies for food, just like food bank
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runs, and then cook. And then water. And we would
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have all these different slots on our chat, and
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people could plug in whichever speaks to them
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as needed. And then once we have an idea of like,
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we have enough members for that Saturday Cook
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Distro day, then we put it in motion. So then
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we have another group chat that's exclusively
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for Cook and we start discussing what supplies
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we need, what recipe we're making and, you know,
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what time we'll meet at the kitchen. And I just
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want to plug in the Olympia Unitarian Universalist
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Church has been VERY helpful, tremendous, because
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like, they provide us a space to make this happen
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truly like we're grateful for them, um, it's like,
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because they're very front -facing, and I think
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it's important to like, just you know recognize
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how much good they are doing to the community
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and especially like, for you know, we don't have
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the space for that and we're so grateful for
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them providing a space, so thank you Olympia Unitarian
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Universalist Church! And then so once from there,
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we start Cook, you know, we have all the supplies
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ready. We have the ball rolling. We communicate
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via chat for the Distro folks, like, we'll finish
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by this time. And usually we have Bobby rolling
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in, core member of like grabbing supplies, you
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know, grabbing the food, the harm reducs and the
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carts to go to our site. And from there, the
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food is distributed. And yeah, that's all the
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magic happens. Awesome. I'm excited to share
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what an average day looks like, and I'm just
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going to talk about yesterday when we were at
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the Jungle on the 4th of July. Ooh! We were unsure
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because, in the polls on our group chat, we didn't
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have a lot of support in the few days prior to
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Saturday. We weren't sure if Cook and Distro was
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necessarily even going to happen. There was a
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lot of people out of town, and four people, that really hadn't cooked
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for the first time, and hadn't helped much at
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all with FNB, showed up and showed out. And we
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had five people on Cook, five people on Distro,
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and it was an amazing day. We showed up at noon
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-ish at the UU church and decided we were going
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to cook potatoes. We grabbed potatoes from a
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food pantry on the... no, it was in Tumwater. Somebody
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brought some potatoes. We got a few more to fill
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it out. I bought frozen peas on the way. We had
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some spices. We made delicious mashed potatoes
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and kind of like curried peas along with it.
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And then another member who is fairly new to
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FNB, at least in the past, they helped several
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years back, but they cooked hot dogs and veggie
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dogs on the grill at their house, and we picked
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it up from them on the way from the church to
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our encampment site that we go to on Martin Way.
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So it was amazing. We had music playing, really
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good conversation as we were cooking. We left
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the skin on the potatoes, scrubbed them, had
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two huge pots of potatoes boiling, mashed them
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up. We had our... One of our committed members
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be the Spice Master. I like using that term.
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So we were like, you are going to decide how
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this food gets spiced and we're all going to
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taste test it. And honestly, it was amazing.
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We had things like a little bit of za 'atar in
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there. We had salt, enough salt. pepper, a variety
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of things, honestly, to make it delicious. And
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we ended up with between 48 and I think 50 servings
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of mashed potatoes and peas in a container that
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we put in boxes and got to the Jungle hot, or
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as warm as we could, at least. And along with
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that, the hot dogs were fresh off the grill.
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We had buns and condiments. And we actually don't
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do this often, but we just serve the hot dogs
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to order out of our carts at the Jungle. Wow. So we
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showed up with hot food, frozen popsicles that
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we bought. Yes! 120 waters, which sometimes we
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do 160 in the summertime. We did run out. But
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we had a bunch of waters, popsicles. hot dogs,
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mashed potatoes, peas, harm reduction supplies,
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which includes things like wound care, which
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is everything from gauze to band -aids of different
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sizes to something like Neosporin, other things
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like that. And then harm reduction specifically,
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which is Narcan, Naloxone, nasal Narcan, cleans,
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a variety of things like that. And that's...
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really an average day. We had four carts full
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of stuff, five people pulling carts, which is
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so helpful because when we show up usually at
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our spot, there's a lot of people who see us
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right away and come up and we're doing our best
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to get them everything they need or want from
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our carts. And it's definitely... full effort
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to be like, oh yeah, don't leave before you get
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a couple oranges or something like that. Make
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sure you have enough waters. Pet food is a huge
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one that we bring. We had some wet kitty food
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that we were giving out yesterday and that went
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really quickly... Oh wow. We give more waters to people
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that have pets because they need water just as
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much, obviously. And we were up front in the
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Jungle for, I would say, an hour and a half yesterday.
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There was a lot of good people that we had conversation
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with. Took us a while to give out. Did I say
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60 hot dogs? We had about 60. So 48 servings
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of mashed potatoes and peas, 60 hot dogs with
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buns. It was honestly an amazing day. And I had
20:09
so much fun. And we left right around 6 o 'clock,
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our group, from the Jungle, and I just felt alive
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after Distro yesterday. It was a good day. Oh,
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that's amazing. So. How do y 'all work together
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as a unit in the kitchen? So even though we are
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structureless by design, we still have somebody
20:34
that usually... the word we use is Bottom Lining.
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We'll have somebody who's kind of head chef,
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and then we have several sous chefs in the kitchen.
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And I love being a sous chef personally. I like
20:45
being told, chop these onions, do this and that.
20:48
It's still collaborative, but generally we have
20:51
somebody and... Generally, somebody- what I mean to say
20:54
is, somebody with cooking experience guiding us
20:57
through the process, because our goal is really
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to cook good food, not just whatever food we
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end up coming up with. So it's really important
21:05
to have a little bit of structure in the kitchen.
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And we have a couple, if not a few, really good
21:10
cooks helping us right now, have taught, shared
21:15
skills with us, there's been people who have barely
21:18
any if no cooking experience who have become
21:20
confident in their cooking skills while working
21:24
together. So i think it's a very uh, open space
21:28
for ideas, yet we still do have a little bit of
21:31
structure there. Oh that's so good to know. And
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we.. we also try and like, spread the Bottom Lining
21:38
role around because it's like, it's a drain on
21:42
on like, if one person is Bottom Lining all the
21:46
time, and also like, you know, we want people to
21:51
develop those skills and develop that, like, ability
21:55
to like lead a Cook, even if they came in with
21:58
not much experience or confidence in the kitchen,
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um, and also we don't want to create a hierarchy
22:05
of like, oh this person's always Bottom Lining,
22:08
like, they must be in charge, you know. Um, I want
22:11
to plug in one of the cooks because um, I'll just..
22:14
A has been very helpful, like he has cooking experience,
22:20
like he has cooked in uh, kitchens for food co
22:24
-ops and stuff, and has really like, opened my eyes
22:29
to like different flavors, you know, I was very
22:32
skeptical of like, fruit salad, but he really showed
22:36
the way, and I think it's like it's so cool, just
22:40
like, seeing, you know, people's knowledge and just
22:43
palates and stuff and being able to incorporate
22:47
that, and you know, and share it among everyone,
22:50
not only for like, their stomachs but also for
22:52
like, their mind, you know, the knowledge of like,
22:55
different ways to cook. It's really enlightening
22:58
me. Food is culture. Yes. Thank you. So how is
23:10
the Jungle doing? There's so much going on with
23:14
the city. I would just really love to hear your
23:18
direct experience with how people are doing there
23:22
and what's happening, if you are able. Yeah,
23:25
totally. The residents of the Jungle are resilient,
23:29
but they face the threat of being kicked out
23:33
every day. Of what? Every day. They face the
23:36
threat of being kicked out. It could be tomorrow
23:39
that local leadership in this area, whether it's
23:44
Olympia City Council, Lacey City Council, the
23:47
Regional Housing Council, just decides to cut
23:50
the funding, which they almost did a few weeks
23:52
ago. Or... just bring the police force in to evict everybody
23:58
from their homes. And we know that the city has
24:05
claimed that the Jungle won't be swept for like
24:08
18 months to two years, and we know that they
24:11
have claimed that they would find everybody housing.
24:16
But I am a little skeptical of whether or not
24:20
we can trust the city's goodwill on this. I think
24:24
that there's been for a long time a lot of anti
24:31
-houseless sentiment in city government. And
24:36
I also think that a lot of times the housing
24:41
or other alternatives that are... provided are
24:45
not adequate because a lot of times they... there's
24:51
not a lot of privacy or it's like, oh you can't
24:53
have your dog there, or you can't have your partner
24:56
over for a night, and also like, the Jungle is
25:02
a community, like, people take care of each other
25:05
and look out for each other, like, all the time
25:07
people are like, as B was saying, like people
25:10
are like, oh, can I have a meal for my wife,
25:13
for my boyfriend, for my neighbor, my friend?
25:17
And like, even I think it would probably be better
25:23
if people were in a community that also had like,
25:26
running water and indoor heating. But a lot of
25:31
the times the places that they get funneled into
25:36
might be like technically more of buildings,
25:40
but might take them away from that community
25:43
that they've formed. To elaborate, I also feel
25:50
like there's not enough space. I heard it's like
25:54
first come, first serve for a lot of the folks
25:56
in the Jungle. So even if they were going to,
25:59
you know, the shelters, it's... probability whether
26:04
they will get in, and so I think them providing
26:07
their own space in the Jungle, it gives them a
26:09
sense of like, independence and autonomy, and like
26:12
to be able to decorate or whatever circumstance
26:16
they have, you know, what capacity and doing Distro
26:22
like, with Bobby and some of the folks, sometimes
26:25
I think, we build rapport with them and just learning
26:28
about their stories and how they you know came
26:33
there, um, and I think it's important, you know,
26:36
like we are privileged enough to have homes and
26:41
like, and...I think it's like important, like, they
26:45
are our neighbors too, like, we shouldn't treat
26:48
them any differently like, everything is circumstantial,
26:51
and you know, we.. we need to support each other,
26:56
we need to help our community. Quality of life,
26:59
when you're in survival mode, and the ability
27:04
to have autonomy over your life is such a challenge.
27:08
And it really should not have to be. It really
27:11
shouldn't. One of the distinctions between mutual
27:14
aid and charity, and I think I'm pretty accurate
27:17
on this one, is that mutual aid is giving without
27:21
considerations. And, you know, like the state
27:24
and Thurston County does a lot to give to the
27:28
community and the unhoused, but it's with considerations
27:31
and limitations often, like making a list of
27:36
250 people to get housed and then adding 50 more
27:40
people when they realize it was a small list.
27:43
They're still leaving people behind. There's
27:46
more than one pregnant person right now in the
27:48
Jungle, and one of them said they couldn't get
27:51
on the list, so they're having a baby in August.
27:55
kind of really shook me to think that they won't
27:58
be having a home. Right, right. At least a provided
28:03
home, I mean, by Thurston County. They're pretty
28:05
much being left to the number of people on the
28:08
list, so. Yeah, and there have been other experiences
28:13
that I have heard shared where the city has gaslit
28:19
the communities, the homeless communities, promising
28:23
them. such and such, and then sweeping, like
28:27
legally promising, on paper, documented, and
28:30
then pulling it out from under them when they
28:32
weren't looking. I interviewed Phoenix with Integrate.
28:37
I don't know if you know them. They are actually
28:40
a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded by individuals
28:47
that have been in the homeless encampment in
28:49
order to advocate for themselves and other homeless
28:53
individuals, and they have been going through
28:56
a struggle of litigation that goes back like,
29:00
at least seven years. And this is one of our
29:03
interviews that we did that anyone can go listen
29:05
to and hear what that story is like that we're
29:09
referring to these experiences on. Yeah. And
29:13
I will also say that conditional love, conditional
29:17
care is not actual love and care. Agreeing with
29:22
that, like, whether it's on a individual relationship
29:25
basis or a community basis. At the time of our
29:38
recording, the Instagram for Olympia Food Not
29:41
Bombs had mentioned educational literature, much
29:45
like the international website and many other
29:47
chapters. Olympia Food Not Bombs Instagram has
29:51
since been updated, however. So I had followed
30:02
the link for your Google Docs on your Instagram.
30:06
And there's a little space there that says something
30:09
about literature and that you're really hoping
30:13
to bring that back. You did say, L, that it
30:16
does need updating. And so it looks like you
30:20
used to in the past have literature and you don't
30:24
right now, but you're hoping to do that. But
30:26
you have stickers coming. What we do sort of
30:29
ebbs and flows based on the capacity that we
30:31
have, and our highest priority is making sure that we are giving people food.
30:39
Absolutely. Absolutely, and when we talk about
30:42
literature are we visualizing like.. like, um, like,
30:46
little zines, are we visualizing like, flyers that
30:50
just say what y 'all are doing.. what are we talking
30:52
about? Probably in the zine realm for sure, um
30:55
we don't hold on to a lot of anonymity, but as
30:58
far as putting flyers out it's more of word of
31:00
mouth, I would almost say, and then social media
31:03
presence, I don't know exactly how true that is
31:05
but uh.. Um, flyers is, I guess the stickers that
31:10
we post around town and in other places are our
31:13
flyers essentially, but having something on paper
31:16
would be good. And we have a poster that I should
31:19
have brought today, but we do have a poster that
31:21
we bring to some of our events, cause sometimes
31:22
if somebody asks us to cook for like, Radical
31:24
Pride of Olympia, we did that last year and we
31:27
had our little poster saying, Hey, we could use
31:29
volunteer support. Here is a link to our Instagram
31:32
page and our Venmo, I believe, and that's one
31:38
of the things that I'm now remembering would
31:40
be something around literature. Awesome, thank
31:44
you. Another reason we don't have literature
31:46
as much anymore is that we, these days, tend
31:51
to do mobile Distro. Giving away all the food
31:55
at the front of the Jungle is sort of a rarity.
32:00
A lot of the time we're... taking our carts in
32:03
and walking around um, and we do that so that
32:06
we can like, get to more people who can't necessarily
32:10
like, make it to a central location, which is.. Accessibility.
32:13
Yeah. You do bring up a good point and I think
32:17
we should bring it back. I think it is important
32:18
educating, especially for new members, and I think
32:23
it's also just like, kind of, you know, reminding
32:25
like, the mission, like food insecurity, like
32:27
all these topics are relevant, and to be educated
32:30
on it, so thank you for bringing that, and i think
32:33
that's something we could definitely incorporate
32:34
in our programs. Yeah, I think so many people don't
32:38
even realize just how much food there really
32:40
is in the world, and it just needs to be distributed
32:44
properly, you know, um it's like, yeah you can have
32:47
free food and you can also buy food. You have
32:50
so many options, you know, but what... what would
32:54
it take to re-conceptualize what that looks like
32:59
globally, locally? You know, what would it take?
33:04
You know, I think that y 'all are definitely
33:06
doing the good work moving in that direction. Yeah.
33:19
One of my favorite definitions of Anarchy is
33:21
the spontaneous interactions that make a community
33:24
work. And I just think that's so beautiful and
33:27
what we try and practice with our group because
33:30
not only does 40% of food go to waste in this
33:33
country, 40% of clothes do as well. I learned
33:36
that one about last year. And we do distribute
33:39
clothes when we get them, and I think it's just
33:41
so important to be donations -based and provide
33:45
things that people need. I agree, and I think
33:48
that's becoming especially relevant now in these
33:55
days of a lot of social services getting their
33:59
funding cut, especially starting in 2027. Trying
34:05
not to be vulnerable to a grant getting cut or
34:09
non -profit funding getting cut is one of the
34:12
many reasons we try and stay donations based
34:16
because if it's.. if it's not autonomous it's a
34:22
lot easier to destroy. I heard somebody say once
34:28
that America's three missed meals away from a
34:31
revolution. I..I do feel like this is like, a peaceful
34:34
way to challenge the system, to show that like,
34:37
you know, the community can come together and
34:40
provide, you know, that we don't have to support
34:42
the capitalistic of like, consuming, consuming,
34:44
you know, because a lot of the products we get
34:47
are from like gleaning from like other farmers
34:50
coming together and just donating because like,
34:53
they're like, this will go to waste or like, the
34:55
food bank and stuff and I think it goes to show
34:58
that like, yes we can feed our community, yes this
35:01
is accessible, there's just and barriers in the
35:05
system that make it harder for people to access
35:08
these resources. So I feel like in a way, FNB
35:11
is challenging the system. Going back to the
35:22
different... You know, in the news publications
35:25
and we see these incidents where different Food
35:30
Not Bombs organizations or groups have been blocked.
35:34
Like, why is it illegal to feed people? What
35:37
is wrong with that? Have y 'all experienced anything
35:40
like this? Personally, some of the barriers I've
35:45
experienced are maybe less direct, like community
35:48
members being upset with us when they see us.
35:51
Somebody honked at us rather loudly with an American
35:54
flag off their truck yesterday, and I feel like
35:58
it wasn't a friendly honk, and I think they were
36:00
upset seeing us walking with carts to the encampment.
36:03
It was a little ridiculous, but usually there
36:06
isn't somebody directly blocking us, although
36:09
I will say the most unsafe I've ever felt in
36:11
the Jungle was when there was a strong police
36:13
presence because somebody had committed a crime
36:15
in the Jungle, and there was over 10 cops, and
36:18
we were doing our Distro at the exact time they
36:21
were in there with assault rifles and whatever,
36:23
and the first three police officers I asked what's
36:27
going on, are we okay to be here, told us to f-
36:30
off, so um, that's really one of the biggest barriers
36:35
I can think of as far as uh, us trying to do the
36:38
work we do and experiencing push-back from it.
36:41
They didn't tell us to leave, but they didn't
36:43
help us at all and I felt very unsafe that day.
36:45
Wow. The residents of the Jungle are amazing. They
36:50
are open to us being there. We still approach
36:55
them with respect and where they need to be, but
36:57
I have never faced barriers from the residents
37:00
of the Jungle. Walking up to their spot and saying,
37:03
Hey we have food and water if anybody wants it,
37:06
sometimes they say nah I'm good, sometimes they're
37:08
like yeah I'll be out in a sec, um, it's honestly
37:11
a great space to be in and the barriers we faced
37:15
have been from random community members that
37:18
are upset with what we're doing, and a lot of
37:21
times the police force. Yeah, as Bobby said,
37:27
the most trouble that we've encountered is the
37:31
police or business owners who object to us being
37:38
in their spaces because... I don't know why. I do
37:45
want to also like, shout out that other Food
37:47
Not Bombs chapters around the country have been
37:50
having more troubles than us, particularly currently
37:55
the Tulsa chapter, which... Their Instagram is
38:01
the best place to learn about that. And there
38:03
are definitely those articles on the regular,
38:07
the international website, if anybody is interested
38:11
in finding out more about that. Thank you. And
38:14
speaking of chapters, are there other chapters
38:17
in Washington that you know of? We have had
38:21
people support Olympia Food Not Bombs that have
38:24
helped with Seattle Food Not Bombs. I remembered
38:28
that I learned about Food Not Bombs as a greater
38:31
organization at a May Day concert in Hoquiam
38:35
that Aberdeen Food Not Bombs was putting on.
38:38
And I think that was one of the first times I
38:40
had seen and understood what Food Not Bombs even
38:43
means. So those are the two I can speak to the
38:47
most. I know they're doing great work out there,
38:49
especially in a place like Aberdeen when there
38:52
isn't much around the area at all, so everybody
38:56
in that greater community like, outside of the
38:58
city and whatever up and down the coast rely
39:01
on just them for support you know uh, up and down
39:04
the I-5 corridor, there's obviously a lot more
39:06
people, but there's a lot more mutual aid groups,
39:09
so. Yes, so um, how can people get involved? Yes.
39:22
So on Instagram, we definitely are avidly posting
39:27
like, what our updates and outreach opportunities.
39:30
And we usually communicate via signal chat of
39:33
just like when our next Cook is. Our group chats
39:36
are on Signal, which is an encrypted messaging
39:39
app, and the best way to get involved is to either
39:43
message us on that Instagram, which is at Oly
39:48
FNB or to email us at OlympiaFNB at proton .me.
39:52
And then we can add you to the signal chat and
39:56
go from there. All lowercase. All lower case. We hope that like,
40:01
you know, if there's any hesitation, like we
40:04
don't expect anyone to know like anything off
40:08
the bat, like how to cook, how to distribute,
40:10
like we want to be as collaborative as possible
40:13
and, like, hope they could bring whatever skill
40:15
set or just learn from us, you know, like, learn
40:18
together. And we hope, like, it's accessible
40:21
to everyone. That is our mission. Quick addition
40:28
as far as accessibility goes. Last summer, I teched
40:32
down when my smartphone broke to a flip phone,
40:35
and I do not have access to Signal. And I know
40:37
there's many people who want to get involved
40:38
with Food Not Bombs that do not use Signal at this
40:41
time or either do not want to or can't. You can
40:45
still be an active member in our group. There's
40:49
committed folks, friends of mine, in the chat
40:51
that tell me when something important is going
40:53
on. Beyond that, if you show up at noonish on
40:56
Saturdays at the UU Church, you will meet us
40:59
there and we will help get you in. That's so
41:03
good to know. Sometimes we're late. Sometimes
41:05
it's more like 12:30. So yeah, if we're not there
41:09
at noon exactly, maybe wait around a little bit.
41:12
Punk time is a reality for us. Punk time! Indeed.
41:19
If, and this is a reality of our group, if we
41:23
don't respond to you promptly, and you reached
41:26
out to us on our Instagram or Proton account,
41:29
we used to have to just show up and see each
41:32
other in person to make things like this happen.
41:35
And if you can make your presence there, you
41:39
will be open to all the resources that we can
41:41
provide. So if we meet you in person, there's
41:45
no barriers at all. The internet and phones are...
41:50
useful, but sometimes we only have so much capacity.
41:53
So that's why I was kind of plugging showing
41:56
up if you can on Saturdays, especially the first
41:59
time because then we know you and we will plug
42:03
you in in any way we can. So. That's so awesome.
42:07
Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Anybody
42:10
who can't tap in on an average Saturday for Cook or
42:12
Distro, we would love your support if you're
42:16
willing in things like, we're talking about helping
42:18
with our website. B helps so much with our Instagram
42:22
page. But before that, it was a little less active.
42:27
So if anybody has capacity outside of Saturdays,
42:32
we really, every day of the week, could use support
42:34
in ways people can help us. And that includes
42:36
things like literature, updating our online presence
42:40
and such. Helping us design a sticker. Oh, yes.
42:44
And what happens next? L and I, we are avidly
42:50
on the Instagram looking at the chat because
42:52
there are a lot of folks who want to donate food.
42:56
I really want to plug in this one restaurant
42:59
that's always trying to donate fried chicken.
43:02
I don't remember which one it is. Yeah, but just
43:05
like people like that, you know, like whatever
43:08
capacity they have, like whether it's food supplies,
43:10
like we will coordinate with them of like a time
43:14
we could pick up the supplies. And from there
43:17
we put on Signal chat. Does anyone have the capacity
43:20
to pick up? And, you know, if the members are
43:24
interested in like, being part of the Cook and
43:26
Distro, we tell them to join our Signal chat and
43:29
we provide the link and usually once we accept
43:32
them in, um there is like, uh programs and protocols
43:37
of like, what we did just to kind of have like,
43:39
a better understanding of like, each programs
43:42
and um for example if they go to cook they just
43:46
be like hey I'm new and we just tell them like,
43:50
okay like this is like, what we're making this
43:53
is like kind of like the duties we have like
43:55
cleaning dishes, cutting, prepping, spice master,
44:00
head chef, etc., and allow them to pick what speaks
44:05
to them and then for Distro um, we usually meet
44:10
at the parking lot you know, we tell them communicating
44:13
via Signal chat like, we're meeting at this parking
44:16
lot this time and we'll have like three carts
44:20
designated. One for food, one for harm redux, one
44:23
for like, pet supplies and other miscellaneous
44:26
things, and from there they just help distribute
44:29
that, and usually there is a flow to it. Can you
44:41
clarify specifically the kind of donations that
44:44
you uh, prefer to receive, and what will you receive
44:48
and what won't you be able to receive? Yes. If
44:51
you have food donations, especially if they're
44:55
like, you know, like, oh, tomatoes, or if it's
44:57
something with the ingredients listed so we can
44:59
tell people what we are giving them, that can
45:02
be dropped off on a Saturday, that is ideal.
45:08
And we're dropping things off where? Is that
45:10
at the OUUC? Yes. the Olympia Unitarian Universe
45:14
Church over there on the Westside, yes. Yes um,
45:19
to elaborate more on what L has said, so uh,
45:23
non -perishable canned goods are good, um, produce
45:28
is a big one because you know I think it's important,
45:31
like, we want to give them a nutritious meal so
45:34
like vegetables is always solid, um... we've done...
45:39
I mean monetary is nice too, so if you don't have
45:44
those supplies we could buy those, you know, whatever
45:47
capacity you can provide, and I know a lot of
45:51
members in the Jungle ask for like, sometimes
45:54
blankets, candles, clothes, um.. and tents. But, but
46:00
those are more miscellaneous things, I think like
46:03
the more focus is on the food. To -go containers
46:07
and utensils are like the most useful things.
46:11
And it's especially useful if you can drop it
46:15
off on a Saturday. We don't have a lot of storage
46:18
space. So if you have like a bunch of ice cream,
46:22
that would be hard for us to receive because
46:25
we don't have a huge freezer. Okay. If anything,
46:30
if you have something to donate to us, tell us
46:33
and we will tell you if it's really not something
46:36
that the people out there need. Likely it is.
46:38
So batteries, waters, baked goods make people's
46:45
days. So honestly, a sweet treat is amazing for
46:49
them. And shoes, socks, pet food is super important.
46:56
There's currently a wish list for baby stuff.
47:00
And even appliances that need an electric plug
47:02
in, there are generators out in the encampment.
47:04
So don't think, oh, no electricity, anything
47:07
like that. And to add more to Bobby's statement,
47:13
I think it's also like, we ask the Jungle members
47:15
because, you know, obviously needs change over
47:18
time. Like, for example, like the upcoming pregnancy,
47:21
like sometimes like, certain medicine they need,
47:26
too, so actually I kind of want to mention like,
47:29
if anyone is like, medical practice like it would
47:33
be nice if they could go and volunteer and help
47:35
with the Jungle as well. Oh and uh, hygienic products
47:39
such as like, femme hygiene um, is essential just
47:44
for any basic.. Like pads and tampons. toothpaste, pads
47:48
tampons, toothbrushes, uh deodorant... things like
47:53
that are everyday needs that all of us need.
47:55
Being clean is also just a basic human right.
47:58
Yes. Another major need for the residents of
48:09
the jungle, Olympia Food Not Bombs likes to do propane
48:12
runs where we will show up at the Jungle really
48:14
any time of year because propane is a needed
48:16
thing, but especially in the winter, and we will
48:20
try and make it known what day and time we're
48:22
coming to the residents, and they will bring
48:24
their propane tanks up to us labeled. We will
48:28
bring them to a propane refill station, and we
48:32
really need funds for stuff like that. That's
48:34
hundreds of dollars just for 20 tanks, let's
48:37
say. Propane isn't cheap, especially when you're
48:40
doing a lot of five -gallon tanks. So we can
48:42
easily spend $500 on one propane run. And we
48:46
do have funds that we collect for that, and we
48:48
almost set aside funds for things like that and
48:51
do our best to source other stuff for free or
48:54
for a donation. But there are things that we
48:56
just need money for. So definitely money will
48:59
probably directly go towards things like that.
49:03
Awesome. Thank you. And a propane run, especially
49:06
in the winter, is a great... way for like a time
49:11
when we need monetary donations for sure, but
49:13
also like, if you're like, oh I can't show up to
49:16
Food Not Bombs regularly, like, I can't commit to
49:19
that, that's a time when we need a few people
49:22
who want to dedicate like, their whole day but
49:25
it's just one day to that and also especially
49:28
if you have a car, especially a big car, that's
49:31
that's a time when we need to transport a lot
49:33
of things. Awesome. So part of the reality for
49:47
the past couple years of, if not more, of Olympia
49:49
Food Not Bombs is we used to cook out of Traditions
49:53
Fair Trade in downtown Olympia by the water.
49:56
Their kitchen was not in use during COVID, and
49:59
the owner very graciously let us use their space
50:03
for, I think, three years. And we had fridge
50:07
space, dry storage space, freezer space there,
50:10
a nice kitchen. And, we lost that space last fall.
50:15
And when we lost that space, the group was struggling
50:18
to find a kitchen to cook out of. And many places
50:24
in the area were willing to offer us their kitchen
50:27
until... they found out we didn't have insurance
50:29
liability. And with a donations -based group
50:32
like ours, it is hard to make a regular insurance
50:35
payment necessarily when we feel like those funds
50:38
need to be spent on resources for the people
50:40
we're trying to service and help. So that brings
50:45
in the UU Church, the Olympia Unitarian Universalist
50:48
Church. They were one of the only people at this
50:51
point, besides Traditions, who said... You can
50:54
cook in our kitchen. We will pay for your insurance.
50:57
And right now they're sponsoring us so that we
50:59
can safely and they can safely host us and we
51:03
can cook in our kitchen. And honestly, we would
51:07
still be cooking out of people's houses or in
51:10
the park or something like that, making PB & J's
51:12
if they hadn't stepped up and really given us
51:15
something that we truly need to make our operation
51:17
a success. At this point, they can't provide
51:21
us space for storage. which is just a reality
51:24
of their space. So if anybody listening is willing
51:27
to help us even with dry storage at their private
51:30
place or fridge, like it is something where we're
51:34
day of Cook, bringing multiple parts of the meal
51:38
and the supplies from multiple people's houses.
51:41
And even though we have a secure cooking space
51:44
right now, we could use more help from the community.
51:47
And we do get help from other mutual aid orgs,
51:50
especially the smaller ones. In Olympia we have
51:55
members that help with their Distros and they
51:58
are a part of our groups and there's a lot of
52:01
intersectionality between a few of the small
52:03
mutual aid orgs and we support each other when
52:06
we have extra food we give it to them when they
52:09
have extra clothes they'll share with us and
52:11
I do feel like very much supported by several
52:17
of the mutual aid orgs in the area That's awesome.
52:21
Thank you. Thank you. As far as monetary goes,
52:33
that can look like a lot of different things.
52:36
What are the options? So our Venmo is at food
52:43
not bombs oly. So F O O D. N -O -T -B -O -M -B
52:52
-S -O -L -Y. And we'll plug it in more on our
52:58
Instagram to make it more accessible. Thank you.
53:01
Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that.
53:06
So is there anything else y 'all would like to
53:17
share? I think I just want to say, like, mutual
53:22
aid and helping people in your community is,
53:24
like, a thing that you can do, and you don't
53:28
need permission or authorization from, like,
53:31
an organization or a non -profit to help people
53:34
in your community, and to, like, ask people what
53:40
they need, see if you can provide it. Thank you.
53:43
I want to thank KAOS for letting us have this
53:46
opportunity, and I don't believe we said this
53:49
earlier, but I want to just like iterate to the
53:53
folks that anybody in the community who thinks
53:56
they don't have time to show up on Saturdays
53:59
and whatever, if you show up once a year. Once
54:01
every couple months, you're helping our organization
54:03
so much. And yeah, thank you for providing us
54:08
this platform for us to speak on this. And I
54:10
hope it like inspires people to like start their
54:13
own mutual aid or just become a part of it because
54:16
it's definitely like, impacted me. Like, I think
54:19
I found like such amazing friends through it,
54:22
and just like a sense of purpose, you know, just
54:26
like. you know provide us, you know, a sense of
54:29
joy for people and just kind of mitigate the
54:31
suffering in the world. Thank y 'all so much for
54:35
joining us here. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank
54:38
you. Thanks. Olympia Food Not Bombs is supporting
54:48
the residents of our Olympia houseless encampments
54:51
with food and supplies on Saturdays. If you would
54:54
like to reach out and find out more, visit their
54:57
Instagram at OlyFNB. You can message them and
55:01
also find the link to the international website
55:04
foodnotbombs .net slash new underscore site.
55:10
You can also email our local chapter at olympiafnb
55:14
at proton .me. To donate funds to their Venmo,
55:19
search at Food Not Bombs, Oly. Bobby, B, and L would
55:25
love to meet with you in person on Saturdays
55:28
around noonish or so at the Olympia Unitarian
55:31
Universalist Church located at 2306 East End
55:36
Street NW. That's it for today's Resource Report
55:49
produced by Pathways to Agency. At Pathways to
55:53
Agency we are driven by the belief that everyone
55:55
should have the tools and support to achieve
55:58
their goals and thrive in their communities. Our
56:01
mission is to bridge the gaps in understanding,
56:04
accessibility, and trust by connecting individuals
56:07
to resources and sharing information and processes
56:11
that can lead to personal and community growth.
56:16
Resource Report offers information about existing
56:19
and emerging nonprofits and resource organizations.
56:23
Find out more at pathwaystoagency .org. You can
56:28
also find our shows archived indefinitely on
56:32
rss .com slash podcasts slash resource hyphen
56:39
report. KAOS Radio is not responsible or liable
56:44
for any views or opinions expressed in the interviews
56:48
conducted by Resource Report. Till next time,
56:51
and thanks for listening.