Serving Food As A Protest? - Interview with “Food Not Bombs”
- Amirthaa Kesavan
- Oct 12
- 3 min read
Every second Saturday afternoon, Market Street fills with the comforting aromas of homemade foods such as warm dhal, hearty soup, and delicious treats. Set up beside the Student Union, the Food Not Bombs team offers free, nourishing food and hot drinks to passersby.
Lucia Assadi, a second year Environmental Science and Geography student, founded the St Andrews collective over the summer, turning food sharing into an act of resistance. I sat down with Lucia to learn what inspired her to bring Food Not Bombs to St Andrews and why serving food can be a form of protest.
Q: For those not familiar, how would you describe the Food Not Bombs collective?
A: “Food Not Bombs started in the early 1980s, where a bunch of activists were protesting the Nuclear Power Plant in Boston, Massachusetts. As they were protesting, they came up with the idea that they would share food as a form of resistance.
It’s a loose-knit collective of different chapters around the globe. It started in the US and then it blew up and expanded all across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia, too. The structure is fully non-hierarchical, so there's no leadership, no committee, and no formal oversight of what people do. It's very free-flowing, independent and autonomous.
What we do is we take potential food waste and surplus produce such as vegetables, fruits, dry goods, and prepacked items from plant-based sources, and turn these into free vegan meals to serve to the community. That’s the crux of what we do. It's a form of community building and direct action. Hunger is so politicised and weaponised, and serving food is one of the most powerful political actions you can take.”
Q: What urged you to start the Food Not Bombs chapter in St Andrews?
A: “Personally, I experienced a lot of disgruntlements in my political views. Having consumed so much theory and different classical ideologies, I realise that we all espouse radicalism. I have all these ideas of how to make the world our place, but if there's no material basis and there's no action to properly strive towards that utopia or actual material change for the community, then everything I'm doing is pointless.
Food Not Bombs changed the way it approached these issues by involving direct, tangible action to support the community. You could see the difference it made across the world. Even though St Andrews is affluent, that doesn’t escape the fact that poverty exists everywhere. There are students who struggle to afford the cost of living, rent and all the expenses just to study here.
Though there are food banks and Campus Larder, there are barriers to receiving the food such as registering, booking a slot and means testing. This is something I wanted to help break down and show people this is who we are, we’re here every two weeks at this place and regardless of who you are, your background, if you're struggling or not, it doesn't matter, this food is for everyone.”
Q: I’m aware that Food Not Bombs recently hosted their first community meal share. How was the process of setting up this chapter and arranging the meal share? Did you receive any support?
A: “I got a glimpse of what it would be like, having seen the work previously done in Dundee, so I did my own research whilst at home. The Food Not Bombs website provided lots of resources such as signup sheets and templates. I was just making up our own brand from there by setting up Instagram, graphics and outreach to other students. From there, we gathered all the physical resources like tables, cooking and serving equipment. There's a lot of planning behind it, but at its core, it's very straightforward. When I first connected with other Food Not Bombs chapters, the Govanhill Glasgow chapter offered a ‘solidarity’ payment to help with sourcing equipment and resources for anyone starting up, so not everything came from my own pocket.”
In the rush of university life, where academics often top our priority lists, it becomes easy to overlook issues like community care. Actions such as Food Not Bombs’ community meal shares help build a stronger sense of solidarity within the St Andrews society.
An incredible collective working to challenge hunger and inequality amongst students and locals, Food Not Bombs is holding their next meal share on Saturday 18th October. If you’re interested in volunteering, you can get in touch with them via Instagram or email them at foodnotbombsstandrews@protonmail.com. Whether you love cooking or prefer behind-the-scenes roles such as delivery, social media, or education, Food Not Bombs is open to volunteers in every aspect. Even an hour of your time each week can help prep food, deliver it, or spread the word across the community.
Comments