Food Not Bombs with Keith McHenry

Send us Fan Mail

Feeding people sounds simple until you do it in public, for free, every week, with the explicit message that communities deserve food and care more than war budgets. I’m joined by Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs, the global mutual aid movement that has shared free vegetarian and vegan meals in thousands of cities since 1980. Keith walks me through the unlikely chain of moments that shaped him, from a childhood framed by the U.S. military and the National Park Service to discovering civil disobedience and committing to a life of nonviolent direct action.

We dig into the real origin story: recovered produce, public housing neighbors, and the stark contrast of hunger beside nuclear weapons research. From bake-sale protest theater to “soup line” actions that drew attention to poverty, Food Not Bombs became a repeatable model for grassroots community organizing. Keith also recounts arrests in San Francisco for serving food “without a permit,” the public backlash that followed, and what he later learned through FOIA records about federal surveillance and being treated as a national security threat.

Most importantly, we break down why this works as a decentralized movement: three clear principles, no hierarchy, consensus decision-making, and a task-based structure that welcomes people across politics and faiths. Keith shares details on his memoir Soup Street (released May 1, 2026) and how to find a local chapter or start one if your city doesn’t have it. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about mutual aid, and leave a review so more people can find the tools to build community power.

Intro for podcast

information about subscriptions

Support the show

Here is the link for Sunday's 4 pm Pacific time Zoom meeting