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PHILANTHROPY Food Not Bombs starts serving Monday meals Community meal feeds the hungry in Lithia Park Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Jun. 16, 2016 at 7:12 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Jun. 16, 2016 at 7:12 PM » RELATED CONTENT • WE to offer meals for homeless weekly • Homeless-serving groups get together • The weekly miracle of Uncle Foods Diner » Social News “There are hungry people, food is going to waste, it seems ridiculous not to do something about that,” said Bonnie Cohen as she ate her quinoa and salad on the grass at Lithia Park. The latest social activist to step into the Food Not Bombs movement, she began a chapter in Ashland with a community dinner on Monday which she plans to repeat weekly. Cohen’s dinner brought out roughly 60 people, some housed and many not. “There’s a gap in food for people who depend on community meals like this. There was a lot of suffering, that’s why I picked Mondays,” Cohen said as she waved people over to join in the meal. A group of volunteers met at the Methodist Church kitchen, cooking up minestrone soup, pasta and sauce, rice, quinoa and salads. Once prepared they came to the park and sat on the grass, serving anyone who walked up. Small groups spread out across the lawn. Food Not Bombs was first organized in the 1980s as a protest against nuclear weapons. Since then chapters have grown across the planet as a symbol of questioning spending priorities between poverty and weaponry. “It’s a kind of civil disobedience,” said Cohen, who also said no one objected to the meal and she had not been questioned by anyone about it. For Cohen, it’s more an act of civility than disobedience. “When people are hungry, tired and scared you can’t talk to them about anything. I can do something about hungry.” Debbie Neisewander, who sat with a small group of mostly young men, said she sees it as a way of greeting people. “It’s a whole different set of people. There’s younger people here, there’s a new set of travelers coming through. It’s positive to greet them with a good vibe and it’ll resonate throughout their stay in Ashland.” Neisewander, who has been homeless off and on through her lifetime, says bringing people together is the solution to a peaceful community. “Sometimes we forget that a lot of these travelers are kids. They’re our future. If you leave them with a positive note, they’re going to be out there spreading peace and love. If you throw them in the gutter, you’re going to create anger and despair.” “I’d like to feed everyone in Ashland on Mondays. What if we could all cook and eat together? What would the world look like? What would Ashland look like?” said Cohen of the Monday dinner. She intends to continue every Monday at 5:30 p.m. in Lithia Park. She is seeking volunteer cooks and kitchens. Cohen is the latest to come forward with a community dinner. Wellness for Everyone, a grassroots volunteer organization, started a community meal in the spring on Fridays at Railroad Park. The Oregon Food Bank identifies Jackson County as having higher rates of hunger than the rest of the state, which they claim continues to grow. They report that much of this is due to unemployment, under-employment and more than half of incomes going to housing. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Jun. 16, 2016 at 7:12 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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