One of the unique ways Food Not Bombs engages in multicultural work is the creation of ways to share access to resources. Members identify and obtain food the wider community needs. We provide an example of how a small group of people with limited economic resources can make a big difference in the quality of life for many people by organizing and recovering a waste product of the existing society. It is our hope that the redistribution of resources other than food becomes an activity taken on by an increasingly larger number of people. After all, we are the people we are trying to serve. 

Food Not Bombs groups are open and democratic. Decisions are made using a process called "consensus." Consensus creates an environment in which different opinions can be expressed without fear, and where conflicts can be resolved in a respectful, nonviolent manner. It is not a competition of ideas to win the favor of the group. Rather, it is working cooperatively to synthesize all those ideas into the best possible decision for everyone involved. The consensus process strives to assure that everyone has an opportunity to share their point of view and to participate in decision-making. Consensus does not mean that everyone thinks the same way; people can agree to disagree and still reach consensus. 

People become empowered when encouraged to participate and take more responsibility for the decisions and actions of the group. This teaches them not only how to be powerful nonviolently, but also how to seek access to power. We will never live in a society with equal power shared by all people. However, it is possible to imagine a world in which everyone has equal access to power, and along these lines, consensus is a process based on the opportunity for all to participate in decision-making. The particular model your group chooses to use will be determined by your size and needs, On Conflict and Consensus (see Bibliography) describes a model called "Formal Consensus." This would be a good place to start in creating your own process.