Countdown

In just a few weeks, the 27th anniversary of the first gathering of Fresno Food Not Bombs will arrive.

Over those 27 years, one thousand, four hundred and four Saturday meal servings will have occurred, with countless thousands served.

During good times and bad, rain or shine, COVID-19 and random disasters have failed to stop this meal from occurring each and every Saturday in Fresno, California, at Roeding Park.

For the last 20 of those years, I have been allowed to loiter in the Wesley United Methodist Church kitchen while hard biting volunteers and gourmand vegan foodies use their gourds to whip up whatever they can.

With donations procured from farmer's markets and Whole Foods, often providing more than we could ask for, and sometimes more than we can easily handle, we eventually had to forego the produce being generously provided by Angel's Produce Farm. 

The string of events necessary to produce and deliver a meal hinge directly on donations of every sort. Expenses for containers, supplies that need purchased to produce a quality meal, raw materials to work with, skilled labor, clothing, compassion and camaraderie, all play a part in what can be delivered to Roeding Park on Saturdays at 11:30 AM.

There is no end to the thanks owed to the hundreds of people who put their time and effort into making this happen for all of these years. Many of whom rarely heard the profound cries of appreciation that ring out at every meal.

Again, as has happened over the years, we face fluctuating and diminished turnouts at our regular location. This would appear to be a result, in part, of temporary housing opportunities in the area, where food is made available, and even more so, perhaps, a result of the longer term housing being offered to prior participants in different areas of town.

Several long time former attendees have disappeared, as some said they surely would, simply because THEY DO NOT WANT TO BE OUT THERE.

Not the meal that discourages, but the misery of endless danger that street life becomes when you have nowhere safe to go. How maddening it must be when ignorant public perceptions are passed around within earshot about "people who want to live on the street" because of hypothetical X,Y or Z bigoted beliefs.

I cannot recall ANYONE who did not want a safe, warm place to live. Key words being "safe" and "live". Considering the violence that is part and parcel of being exposed, and continues in circumstances considered "shelter" it is difficult to forgive the leaders in our community for being so slow and resistant to making things better for all of the residents of Fresno.

Almost as difficult to forgive the ignorant for their faulty stereotypes and indifference. But then, they are just repeating what they have heard from the authorities in office and their associates in the local media. It requires some knowledge or deeper thought to understand the bullshit for what it is, and even more effort to find out what is truly the case.

A strange brew of changes over the last few remarkable years has left us wondering where the crowds went? Considering the more dramatic cleanups and makeshift camp closures, houseless communities are broken up and pushed further away into areas with less attention from concerned authorities who are less concerned about certain areas, and completely unconcerned about the damage done, elsewhere.

The money, on the other hand, has their attention.

There is clearly an industry that is doing well, brand new shiny large trucks parked in front of vacant lots or freeway embankments do the dirty work of cleaning up makeshift encampments, the necessities of which should provoke thought.

Considering the reality of today's economy, doubling food, transportation and housing costs, it is not surprising to see more people on the street than ever, despite the hugely expensive efforts being made to rehab motels and build new housing for low income residents. Less than a drop in any bucket compared to the numerous housing developments in areas with mysteriously low homeless populations, extremely high price tags, no water resources underground or on the horizon, and the ultimate outcome of a shattered housing market putting these buyers out on their upside down butts when the time comes. This is how resources like land, materials and investments are squandered, due to the endlessly expanding universal greed that calls the tune. We can look forward to longer lines at the Saturday meal, of that there should be no doubt.

I can only hope that there will always be some dedicated people working together to have that meal in place when it is needed.

What might be the biggest challenge of all was an unexpected disaster on the only night of rain early this year. As the roof was being redone above the Wesley kitchen, a tarp was removed from its protective location, presumably in order for someone to wrap themselves in during the rain storm. The amount of flood damage inside the building was astonishing, given the lack of rainfall on any other day of the year. Worse still, the circumstances of the damage permitted insurance companies to blame God herself for what happened, and the kitchen has yet to be repaired. This hardship was and is still not enough to keep some dedicated folks from getting the meal out every week since.

But it has not made anything easier or more pleasant. Working separately from homes, we keep on keeping on, but I for one deeply miss the opportunity to loiter and admire the work being done by others in that magic little kitchen that has been our home for over 20 years.

The elaborate collaborations and ingenuity of magicians like Josie, Mary Ann and Heather simply amaze me, and it rankles that I cant get that cheap thrill by being there with them, watching. For just one more meal. And another, and another.

But who's counting?

Feel free to come on out to the Roeding Park tennis court cul-de-sac and see what is cooking.
Cold hands and warm hearts for the most part in this weather, but a New Year is ahead, and hope springs eternal.

Come visit and partake, while you can.

You never know how long a good thing can last.

Thank you to everyone who has seen and contributed to this long running show.
off off off Broadway, right there at Olive and 99.