SOLIDARITY WITH FORT LAUDERDALE FOOD NOT BOMBS

Food Not Bombs is a local grassroots collective that shares hot meals with anyone who wishes to join, every Friday at 3 p.m. in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The purpose of Food Not Bombs is to create an environment of community for members of society that are displaced, as well set an example based on human needs and solidarity. Every gathering is a potluck picnic that is cooked from food that would have otherwise been thrown away, stressing the need for a culture of sharing and equality.  


Believe it or not, the authorities in Fort Lauderdale have decided to crack down on this dangerous bunch of food sharing criminals.  Earth First Newswire reports, 

An unwarranted Fort Lauderdale Police Department raid at a collective house leased by local Food Not Bombs members has raised the latest wave of official intimidation against the homeless community and its advocates to near tsunami levels. The raid, during which police kicked in an unlocked door and allegedly groped a female guest, appears to have been politically motivated as tenants and guests were barraged with insinuations of affiliation with black bloc anarchism and queried as to whether the residence was “a militant training camp,” and whether guests were “terrorists”.

The following is from Broward County New Times Blog. 

Food Not Bombs Clashes With Fort Lauderdale Police

By Michael J. Mooney, Fri., Feb. 25 2011 @ 7:02AM

Categories: Activism, Breaking News

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​The local collective of Food Not Bombs, an international group dedicated to ending hunger and war, says that members of the group have been harassed recently by Fort Lauderdale police. The group claims that police recently raided a house illegally and that officers are making a concerted effort to stop them from feeding homeless people in Stranahan Park. 

A police representative said that the group is misrepresenting the details of several incidents, that most of the issues in Stranahan Park have been about local businesses complaining, and that the group is "certainly free to serve food however they want." Police are looking into the claims, and more information will be available soon.

Meanwhile, the local activists -- many of whom identify themselves as anarchists -- are still without electricity in the Fort Lauderdale house they share. They say that last week, an FPL inspection led to the power being shut off, even though the bill was paid. Not long after the power went off, the activists say, a dozen or show police officers showed up in eight or nine squad cars and raided the house. They say that police brought a K-9 unit, that a male officer inappropriately frisked a female in the house, and that officers repeatedly inquired about the political leanings of the house residents.

They detail the story more here.

The group will hold a "solidarity march" today in Stranahan Park at 4 p.m. and will give a letter to city officials decrying what they see as police intimidation and a violation of their civil liberties.

Check back for more details shortly.