Tsí Tkarón:to Food Not Bombs is a network of radical mutual aid groups that distribute free food across so-called "toronto". The federation is not a group itself. It is a set of tools to help like-minded groups help each other across a large area.
Each group is autonomous. This means that there is no external authority that can make decisions for any group. Each group is also place-based. This means each group mostly operates in a specific area or neighborhood and is run by and for local communities.
The federation helps us come together across places. This is called translocal organizing. And it helps us have a bigger impact than we could on our own. We are stronger together!
So, what brings us together? We believe:
Food is a gift. It is not something to be guarded behind a cash register to benefit shareholders and CEOs. It is something to be shared freely with everybody.
Every person is a part of an ecosystem. The greek word "eco" means home. So, an ecosystem is all the relationships in a home. An ecosystem is the relationships that surround us. Our shelter, water, food, friends and family come from our ecosystem. When we see ourselves as separate or above it, we can justify destroying our environment and the relationships that make it. If we want a healthy ecosystem, we have to keep healthy relationships.
Every person should be able to make the decisions that affect their life. Right now, the vast majority of decisions are made by a few rich people: politicians, CEOs, shareholders and billionaires. On a more personal level, decisions that affect you may be made by your boss, landlord, parents, maybe even your partner or friends. In this type of relationship, if they decide something there's not much you can do to stop it, even if it hurts you. This is called authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is a situation where decision-making power is not in the hands of the people affected by a decision. But, we can create a world where we all make decisions together and carry them through.
Institutions based on authoritarianism, violence, threats, intimidation, and deception can only harm us and our ecosystems. This is called hierarchical power. Through hierarchical power, rich people and other abusers have made us dependent on them. And they act as parasites on our ecosystems. Through violence and deception, they have taken all the housing, forests, farm-land and waterfronts. Then they make us do what they want by threatening us with houselessness, starvation and thirst. When we don't accept this, they send people with weapons to our homes to intimidate, hurt, kidnap, or even kill us. These are unhealthy relationships to keep. The world does not need to work this way.
Diverse, autonomous, place-based institutions based in cooperation, self-defense, and free thought are the future, and foster healthy ecosystems. This is called horizontal power. Horizontal power comes from each of us working together, not one small group of people ruling over the other. Horizontal power is power that makes us all stronger without making any of us weaker.
To learn more, we encourage you to come by one of our events! Everyone is welcome even if you don't live in the area. We just ask that you bring what you learn back to your neighborhood. In the mean-time, check out our Resources page