Photo Credit: Food Not Bombs Facebook page

By Shane Clausing

food not bombs

Local residents trying to bring Food Not Bombs program to Grande Prairie

Apr 15, 2021 | 8:05 AM

A couple of people in Grande Prairie are looking to bring the volunteer movement Food Not Bombs to the City.

Food Not Bombs is an international initiative that takes place in various countries around the world.

The goal is to make sure companies and businesses avoid throwing away produce, bread and other items to ensure fresh food doesn’t go to waste and can be used to make meals for those in need.

“It’s meant as a way to protest things like war and poverty,” said Mackenzie Beck, one of the main organizers in Grande Prairie.

According to Food Not Bombs, fifty cents of every U.S. federal tax dollar goes to the military while forty per cent of food is discarded. The organization feels instead of spending money on the military, more money should be directed to helping human needs, like those who suffer from hunger.

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Food Not Bombs has grown popular in Canada, especially in Saskatchewan and Ontario.

Beck and his group are hoping to get the support of local businesses to help them make food hampers to give to those in need, instead of letting good food go to waste.

He adds they have some work to do in order to get the movement off the ground.

“Our initial kickoff is we need people to help us get the food and companies to donate food to us so we can have something to contribute,” said Nishtha Sharma, another partner with Food Not Bombs.

“It’s meant to be like a network and as we get enough people involved of it, it starts to take care of itself,” explained Beck. “The one in Saskatoon has 1,000 members and people can just go to their Facebook group and ask for a food hamper. People will donate different pieces and because there are enough people, everybody just does what they can.”

As kind of a ‘pilot project’ for Food Not Bombs, Beck and his team have launched a GoFundMe to make bagged lunches for those that are less fortunate and give them to members of a local church.

The Grande Prairie Food Not Bombs will be hosting its first meeting at 5:00 p.m. on May 5 to hopefully explain to people what it is they are doing and try to get more people on board.

You can learn more information by heading to the group’s Facebook page.