Food for Thought and Ingredients for Revolution Food has always offered us a chance to talk and right now there's a lot to say as 8 million people in the UK are facing food poverty, and 3 million have already gone hungry since the lockdown began. It's easy to see this as all the fault of the pandemic. As an exceptional crisis. This is the story politicians and their faithful media would like us to believe, but food poverty is nothing new. It has always been an inevitable symptom of the capitalist system of the haves and the have-nots. The Tories have spent a decade waging a ruthless war on public services and social security, cutting financial lifelines and effectively killing thousands of us. It's been obvious for ages that our lives mean nothing to our rulers and the rich they serve. This pandemic has made that clear. Everything the government does is to protect itself, its own interests, and the interests of big business. More and more of us understand now that, despite all their talk, the state is not going to save us. When have we ever been able to rely on them, or their capitalist system? Healthy food is one of our most basic needs, but is apparently not on the menu. So it's up to us to work together, look out for each other, and collectively meet our needs. The mutual aid networks and solidarity projects which have sprung up everywhere since the start of the virus outbreak have shown a different way to meet society's needs, and has shown what is possible when we organise for ourselves. When we break out of confinement as individuals, and stop competing with each other for the proverbial crumbs from the rich man's table, we can see new possibilities. We recognise that food banks are not enough, and are themselves a symptom of the sickening poverty and inequality that the system both creates and relies on. Right now we need to do all we can to help each other out, but if we want to move past the daily struggle for survival that so many of us are trapped in, we need to leave capitalism for dead. Taking back control of our lives is highly contagious, as is the question a lot of us are asking: "Why would we go back to 'normal'?" And this is what governments everywhere find so much more threatening than any virus. Because a conversation about our needs for food can quickly become one about the need for revolution... Relevant Links News & Info: alternativebristol.com freedomnews.org.uk Support for Debt, Housing & Migration Issues: Bristol Housing Action Movement 07833 100399 bristolrefugeerights.org 07846 332172 stpaulsadvice.org.uk 0117 9552981 Food Projects: Crisis Care Package Delivery Service frama.link/ploughform eastoncommunitycentre.org.uk National Food Service frama.link/nfscookedfood bristol@nationalfoodservice.uk 0117 3250450 07731 845211 baseandroses at riseup dot net frama.link/freefood facebook.com/BASEandRoses