We're so grateful to everyone who's stuck with us as we have struggled to continue our St. Clair food shares.  As you may know, we've had significant challenges in remaining in the location where we've shared food for the last 6+ years. No matter how man obstacles are put in front of us, we will not stop feeding our community. Any support you can give is most welcome. Read more about our story below:

Food Not Bombs Lake Co. & East Side CLE was founded by a couple of friends who were hungry, and unable to overcome barriers to traditional food assistance programs, so we decided to do it ourselves. At the time, we didn’t know much about social justice issues, but we knew in our guts that nobody should ever have to prove they “deserve” to eat fresh, healthy food. Since that day in 2015 when we had a crazy idea to start our own FNB chapter, we’ve grown to a group of dozens of volunteers who have shared over 850,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables with our community.

Here’s what our poor and working class volunteer organizers have learned along the way: The current system of food distribution in our country doesn’t work for everyone, and many are left hungry. That system sells food as a commodity and relies on large nonprofits and religious institutions to feed the people who can’t afford to pay. Those institutions also leave many groups out, especially in rural communities. LGBTQ people do not feel safe going to Christian churches with a history of homophobia, many of which require mandatory participation in religious programming in order to receive food assistance. Undocumented people, people struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, disabled people, all face tremendous barriers to acquiring the documentation necessary to “prove” they meet the means testing of food banks and government assistance. Food Not Bombs fundamentally rejects the concept of “the deserving poor;” we believe food is a human right, poverty a form of violence. This means we’re able to reach the people who are allowed to slip through the cracks of the inequitable solutions to hunger.

Because of our mutual aid based approach to sharing food, our impact goes beyond the thousands of pounds of food we share each week. We have conversations with our members and volunteers each week about food access, the root causes of poverty, and what it would take to change the way our systems work, to serve everyone. We distribute literature about health issues most likely to affect poor people in marginalized communities, as well as housing issues, transportation, and much more. Through community building and volunteerism, we empower ourselves and our neighbors, by reclaiming autonomy over our food supply, exploring the flaws in the food distribution system, and breaking down barriers between marginalized communities.