I definately love food and can't stand bombs

Hello to the Maryland community and all other members of the non-Maryland community. I'm Ekpa Eyoma and I am currently a sophomore at the University Of Maryland and I am writing to you from the lovely city of Boston, Massachusetts. Fourteen other Maryland students and I are embarking on a Summer Alternative Break program that has a main theme of Urban agriculture and it's close relation and ties on how it's intertwined with hunger and homelesness. Our first cause of action this trip was to volunteer at the 30th annual celebration of 'Food not Bombs' festival that was held in the beautiful Boston Common park (yes guys i did think of south campus commons when I first heard it too).
This is an organisation that was founded thirty years ago come tommorrow, and it's sole mission which is to re-direct the pressing issues that the United States face, even though this organisation was founded unconventionally (through civil disobedienece by protesting a nuclear power plant actions thirty years back) it's main purpose as of this fesival and the last three decades has been that of ending the wasteful ways the U.S.A has been using it's resources and ignoring the pressing issue which is the lack of food available to many Americans, spending less money on wars, weapons and directing the funding to feeding those in need should be the priority.
The festival was a fun filled, enlightning, and humbling experience. There was live empowering music, free bazar shop that had clothes and books, free tasty vegan food, information booths on varios economics factors such as farm animals welfare, vegetarian guide stands, etc., and workshops that touched on various topics from Urban agriculture, Capitalism and how it affects our food production and consumption, how to grow your own food, and the most important theme of the day a fish bowl converstion on homlessenss. This dialouge was the most inspiring experience I had during the event thus far, getting the chance to interact and speak to some of the homeless people in Boston, to put a face to the vauge idea and image we all have of the homeless, to hear their first hand stories and realise that 4 out of the 10 homeless people are college educated, graduated and intellectual people, was a humbling perception change. To think that having a college degree is not the be all end all to avoiding the plight and future of being homeless was a good wake up call. I sadly came into this festival with a pre-concieved notion of the homeless and left completely aware that not all homelessness issues are "self-inflicted". It was saddening to hear how little the govenment and system care about this growing situation and is doing even less to help stop and provide assistance to the homeless.
All I can think right now is how grateful that i was given the oppurtunity to get out of my comfort zone, to interact with people shuned and ignored by society, to re-evalute my ideas and beliefs, and to be able to question the government that says to care only about your best interest but it's actions prove otherwise. I am excited to see what else this trip has in store for me, but it's safe to say we are off to a great start.


Ekpa Eyoma
Student of The University Of Maryland, College Park