Explore Our Site •About Orlando Food Not Bombs •How to Help Us/Wish List •Donate •Calendar: July 2010 •History of Orlando FNB •S.T.O.P.: STOP THE ORDINANCE PARTNERSHIP •Text of Orlando's Anti-Homeless Feeding Ordinance •Where the City of Orlando Thinks the Homeless Should Eat •Links •Photos •Press: – The Orlando Sentinel: 7/8/07 8/12/06 8/02/06 & 7/27/06 7/25/06 7/19/06 6/20/06 & 6/16/06 – The Orlando Weekly: 8/3/06, 7/20/06 & 6/22/06 4/27/06 & 5/12/05 – Central Florida Future: 5/21/07 5/14/07 7/31/06 – Local TV: 7/24-25/06 – Z Magazine: 7 & 8/07 •Why vegan and vegetarian? Please visit the links below to learn about the positive effects of a vegetarian or vegan diet on our health, on animals and on the planet: •Veg Family •Vegan Action •Vegan Outreach •To learn about hunger and food insecurity issues in the U.S., we recommend these links: •Food Research & Action Center •Hunger Study 2006 (from America's Second Harvest food bank network) •Orlando's Shameful History of Criminalizing Homelessness: •Undercover Cops to Nab Panhandlers •Sitting on Sidewalks While Homeless a Crime in Orlando •Orlando's Begging Zones for the Poor & Homeless •Sleeping While Homeless a Crime in Orlando

Welcome to the Website of Food Is A Right–Not A Privilege! Orlando Food Not Bombs shares vegan and vegetarian food with hungry people in the Orlando area. Some are homeless while others are the working poor who have homes, but whose labor doesn't provide them with enough to enjoy a basic standard of living. Ours is the richest and most wasteful society on Earth, and we prepare our meals using some of the vast amounts of perfectly edible food that otherwise would go to waste. (To learn more about veganism and vegetarianism, visit the links on the left.) Our group shares food because people need it and as a means of calling attention to our society's failure to provide food and housing to each of its members. We do this in public spaces, such as parks, because we believe that space should be reclaimed for the use of everyone, not just the privileged. We are an activist collective and humanitarian group that opposes the poverty, inequality, violence, war and militarism, prejudice and oppression, and environmental destruction that make groups such as ours necessary. We believe in trying to solve problems such as hunger through direct action as much as possible, and without seeking any permission or assistance from government. We do not use any tax money or grants to fund our activities, although we gladly accept voluntary contributions. Orlando Food Not Bombs meals usually include vegan soup or stew with rice on the side, bread pudding, steamed or baked vegetables, fruit, bread, pastries, bagels, and juice and water. Breakfast may include oatmeal or grits, bagels or other bread, pancakes, and fresh fruit. Vegan means that the food contains NO animal ingredients. Individuals and groups are welcome to bring non-vegan/non-vegetarian food to our sharings. Currently, Orlando Food Not Bombs shares three days a week: On Sundays, at 1 p.m. in Downey Park (the corner of Dean Rd. and E. Colonial Dr.) in the East Orlando area and on Mondays, at 8:30 a.m. (breakfast) and Wednesdays, at 5 p.m. (dinner), in the picnic area at Lake Eola (the corner of Osceola and Central Blvd.) in downtown Orlando. Orlando Food Not Bombs meets after each Wednesday sharing to make decisions collectively about how our group operates. Orlando Food Not Bombs is part of the informal international Food Not Bombs movement, and, like all FNB groups, operates according to anarchic/anti-authoritarian principles of equality, consensus, cooperation, non-hierarchy (meaning that we have NO leaders), and mutual aid. Meetings are held after our sharings and are open to anyone who, in any way, participates in Orlando Food Not Bombs. (More information on the principles of Food Not Bombs.) Everyone is welcome to be part of Orlando Food Not Bombs. We value participation in our work, sharings and decision-making by people of all ages, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and religious and political beliefs–it is impossible to create a better world unless all of us work together. For information on the Sunday sharings, please e-mail us at eastorlandofnb@gmail.com. For information on the Monday and Wednesday sharings, please e-mail us at orlandofnb@orlandofoodnotbombs.org Orlando Food Not Bombs protested outside a Democratic Party event last August. We were highlighting our opposition to the City of Orlando's anti-homeless food sharing ordinance, supported by Democratic politicians such as Mayor Buddy Dyer and Commissioner Patty Sheehan, and to the trends of gentrification and development that drive such anti-homeless measures. Orlando Food Not Bombs has in the past held a "free grocery day"/free store in Orlando's Parramore neighborhood. At the "free store," we distribute free produce and other items, clothes, books, dishes, etc. By doing this, we use direct action to, in a small way, create a grassroots alternative to the capitalist economy, in which the items that people require for their basic needs–such as food and clothing–are treated as commodities for profit and access to them is based upon one's ability to pay for them. We envision a different sort of society, one in which human beings freely cooperate and share with each other as equals on the basis of social solidarity and mutual aid. Please check back for announcements about future "free stores." In July 2006, the City of Orlando passed an ordinance that criminalizes homelessness and groups that share food inside downtown parks. Despite this measure, Orlando Food Not Bombs has decided to continue sharing food inside Lake Eola Park. We will not be deterred by arrest and other forms of State harassment. Orlando Food Not Bombs is a plantiff in a federal lawsuit, filed in October 2006, that challenged the constitutionality of the City's anti-homeless food sharing ordinance which, essentially, banned food sharings in downtown parks. On Sept. 26, 2008, a federal judge ruled in favor of Orlando Food Not Bombs and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and permanently enjoined the City of Orlando from enforcing the ordinance. Orlando FNB is also an active participant in S.T.O.P.–Stop the Ordinance Partnership, the grassroots coalition fighting the ordinance and the criminalization of homelessness locally. Contact/to help out: OrlandoFNB@orlandofoodnotbombs.org 407.252.1379 (leave a message) We act... Because Food is a Right not a privilege! Because there is enough Food for Everyone! Because Scarcity is a Lie! Because Food grows on Trees! Because Poverty is Violence – unnecessary and unnatural! Because Capitalism makes food a source of Profit not a source of nutrition! Because we need Community not Control! Because we need Gardens not Lawns! Because we need Homes not Jails! Because we need Food Not Bombs!! Orlando Food Not Bombs unveiled its new banner at the Souper Supper Summit on Jan. 30, 2007. That event, at Orlando City Hall, was organized by partner groups of S.T.O.P. in protest of the City's "large group feedings" ordinance. Orlando Food Not Bombs Wish List To receive announcements about Orlando Food Not Bombs, subscribe to our e-mail list. Donate to Orlando Food Not Bombs: More information about making donations. Updated July 8, 2010 Free Web Site Counters

News from Orlando Food Not Bombs OFNB's Struggle With the City: The Court Ruling 7/04/09 A Statement from OFNB on Developments in Our Lawsuit 12/10/08 Judge: Why regulate meals for homeless? 3/28/08 Feeding Intolerance: Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness (A report from the National Coalition for the Homeless) 12/1/07 Orlando Weekly names OFNB 'Best Protesters': 8/05/07 OFNB To Protest at Orange Co. Courthouse: 7/30/07 (updated 8/5/07) Fort Lauderdale FNB Under Attack! 7/29/07 A Statement from OFNB on the Arrests of Our 6 Comrades 7/05/07 6 OFNB Members Arrested at Protest Against Mayor 6/27/07 OFNB Member Trespassed from Park for Sharing Food with Homeless 5/10 & 5/24/07 A Statement from OFNB on the Arrest of Eric Montanez 4/12 & 6/23/07 OFNB Member Becomes First Person Arrested Under City's Anti-Homeless Feeding Ordinance Articles & Photos: Updated 5/4/07 OFNB Supports UCF SDS in Free Speech Fight 1/17/07 Orlando Police Renew Harassment, Surveillance of FNB 11/06 Reports on Orlando Food Not Bombs Sharings: 8/23/06 / 8/16/06 / 8/9/06 / 8/2/06 / 7/26/06 / Photos from 7/26/06: Page 1 / Page 2 / Orlando Police Reports on OFNB's 7/26 & 8/2/06 Sharings OFNB Responds to the 'Orlando Weekly' 8/24/06 A Statement from OFNB 7/31/06