Support Autonomous Food Distribution in Atlanta

People are hungry in our city

Food stamps have been drastically cut in Georgia this year.  Trump is hoping to cut even further, leaving more people in a position of choosing between paying rent and buying groceries.

Traditional religious and NGO charities are finding themselves overwhelmed by growing poverty, unable to keep pace as the government abandons social welfare programs.

We need a new model for fighting hunger

One that doesn’t depend on unreliable government grants or foundation money. One that can’t be eliminated by Trump or any other politician signing a bill.  We need survival programs: networks of ordinary people organized to collect and distribute food. The powerful may abandon us, but we can help each other.

We are helping to build this network in Atlanta!  A loosely organized collection of farmers, restaurant and grocery workers, neighbors, activists, volunteers and organizations like Food Not Bombs and the South Bend Commons are cooperating to distribute approximately 1.5 tons of food to hungry people throughout Atlanta every week.

This food makes a major difference to the people who get it. For many, it’s the main reason they have fresh fruits and vegetables in their diets at all.  But it’s not nearly enough compared to the need.

As long as there are hungry people, our network is not big enough.

You can help it grow! The network is mainly limited by labor capacity.  The more volunteers we have, the more food we can distribute.  Contact the Teardown or Atlanta Food Not Bombs to volunteer.  Here are a few ways we need help:

  • Arrange to donate excess food from your store, restaurant, farm, or anywhere else.
  • Volunteer to pick up weekly donations and transport them to distribution points
  • Donate food infrastructure equipment like a walk-in fridge or box truck.  Or raise funds to help us purchase them.

There’s already enough for everyone, it’s just waiting to be shared

2 thoughts on “Support Autonomous Food Distribution in Atlanta”

  1. Hi, just curious how exactly should a small farmer or gardener position themselves in a mutual aid/survival program? Is it as simple as just growing more food than you can eat and finding ways to distribute it?

    1. It’s that simple! Even better than distributing it yourself is to connect with others doing similar things. Each farmer may only be growing a few crops, so combining our efforts helps increase the diversity of what everyone can offer. It also helps us direct resources more strategically, since we can share ideas about where food is most needed.

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