As a steady throng of people form a jagged line, Jim Belcher slathers peanut butter on bread, determined to serve a meal with a message.

Every Monday, he and fellow members of the year-old chapter of Food Not Bombs, a loose-knit international volunteer and donation-funded organization, offer a free outdoor city-based vegan and vegetarian lunch to the public while calling attention to the inequities of poverty, scarcity and hunger and the waste of food.

"There's a lot of abundance out there, and the idea is to, kind of, redirect a lot of that surplus wealth and give back to the community," said local FNB member David Fraile.

But in August, while the integrity of the FNB message was not put into question, the meal and its location — at that time, Binns Park — were.

Former mayor and pharmacist Charlie Smithgall, citing complaints he had received, particularly about the group's locale, claimed the local chapter of Food Not Bombs was not in compliance with a Binns Park/city agreement signed when he was mayor, and also with health department rules.

His contention, which was publicized in an Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era article, was that in its donation agreement with the city, the Binns family prohibited the preparation or dispensing of food in the park. Smithgall, a Republican candidate for city mayor in the November election, faulted the current mayor, Democrat Rick Gray, for failing to uphold city and health department rules.

"The problem was never the group," Smithgall said. "I have no problem with feeding the hungry.

"But the Binns family gave a lot of money, and a large contribution paid for most of the park, and when people give that kind of money, they deserve to have the contract honored."

CITY SIDE

The city has a different take on the food fallout.

"There is no ordinance that speaks to giving out food," said Pat Brogan, Mayor Gray's chief of staff. Permits and a health license are required if you are selling food, and permits are also necessary for groups that want to reserve a public space exclusively, she said. Health department regulations generally deal with restaurants, vendors, caterers and other commercial interests.

FNB members have been told by city officials that there is no written agreement about sharing food in Binns Park — and Brogan said there is no mention of prohibition against dispensing food in the original contract.

Smithgall remains adamant that the contract does include that prohibition.

"They must be looking under the wrong rock," he said.

While controversy could be a recipe for disaster for the FNB group, it is still up and running — although members have since relocated their meal to Lancaster Square, in part to be closer to a bus stop — and the city appears to be behind them.

"A number of us involved with FNB met with MOOSE (Mayors Office of Special Events) and health inspectors last week to discuss what we do," said local FNB member Josh Redd.

"Since no food service permit is required, it says a lot about their willingness to work in a cooperative way, and serve the community," Brogan said.

The group has a continued green light to serve food, and city and health officials reviewed basic food handling and sanitation procedures with members.

Procedures, which Redd claims the group has always tried to adhere to, include making sure no food is prepared on the ground or any other surface and to use a cutting board or plate; having a bucket with soap, bleach or something similar to keep hands clean and minimize the spreading of germs; and to keep anything containing dairy on ice.

Fraile said the group does not serve meats or, as a rule, dairy products, which would be prone to spoilage.

Most of the food for the free lunch is donated from grocery stores, bakeries, food co-ops, markets and restaurants — often food that would otherwise be thrown out — and a vegetarian soup or stew is prepared the night before at a FNB member's house.

Leftover seasonal fruits and vegetables are also given away at the lunch, and a few food purchases are made possible through monetary donations.

With its rich agricultural roots, and the growing emphasis on providing locally grown, organic produce, Lancaster County is a good source for donated foods, Fraile said.

"When we tell (the food donors) what we do, they are generally pretty sympathetic," he said.

He believes the city and community are too, despite Smithgall's objections.

"We haven't been shut down and, for the most part, we have the community on our side," Fraile said. "It's a 'picnic' atmosphere. People hang out and talk."

The informal lunch attracts newcomers like Bobby Riley who stops in while waiting for the bus, and regulars such as John Anderson.

"This is a good thing," said Anderson, who sometimes goes to the Water Street Rescue Mission for a meal. "This is a lot closer (than Water Street) on foot."

FREE FOOD

For the past year, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays, members of the local FNB chapter have been there for the hungry.

Chapter membership varies, but now is at around 20, Belcher said. More volunteers are always welcome.

"With community being in the forefront of my mind, the assistance and company the frequent picnickers provide goes a long way — they're as much 'members' as I am," Belcher said.

The numbers of people served weekly varies, he said, but can be more than two dozen to three dozen.

Although volunteers initially provided food in the Brunswick Mall area, they moved to Binns Park due to construction at the mall, and the ready accessibility of tables and seating area in the park. The meal will now be served at Lancaster Square.

For the most part, the meal is buffet-style, and the attendees serve themselves, ladling vegetable soup from big pots or grabbing a sandwich or piece of pie.

Members don't proselytize at the lunch, but there is literature available about FNB and vegetarian foods.

"Picnics" are planned through the winter months, and the chapter hopes to also offer donated jackets, coats, gloves and other winter clothing for those in need.

"We see a lot of familiar faces every week," Belcher said. "We also run into a lot of people who have never been before."

First-timer Esther Jones was happy for the lunch break.

"This is really wonderful," she said. "I appreciate it."

FNB ON THE SCENE ELSEWHERE

Food Not Bombs was formed in 1980 in Cambridge, Mass., by eight college students who were anti-nuclear activists.

In the last 30 years, groups have sprouted up in Europe, Asia and Australia.

The original FNB intent was to promote peace and protest poverty. Other initiatives cited in current literature include the support of actions against the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people and the destruction of the earth.

Volunteers aren't there to proselytize, and they don't represent a church or an agency.

Historically, some FNB chapters, particularly in California, have been involved in protests that have led to legal intervention, but that has not been the case with the local group.

More than 500 groups are listed on the contact list of the Web site, www.foodnotbombs.net, which estimates that there may be another 400 not included in the listing.

There are eight included from Pennsylvania.

FNB chapters have no formal leaders and make decisions based on group consensus.

In addition to serving free vegetarian meals in city parks, FNB chapters have provided meals at protests and other events — and in the wake of natural disasters.

For instance, FNB offered meals to to survivors of the 1989 San Francisco Bay area earthquake, to the rescue workers responding to the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks and to the survivors of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

A sentence at the top of a flyer for the local chapter perhaps sums up the organization's name: "The money spent by the world on weapons in one week is enough to feed all the people on Earth for a year."

WHAT: Lancaster Food Not Bombs
WHEN: The local chapter provides free meals for the public 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays
WHERE: Lancaster Square
ON THE WEB: www.foodnotbombs.net; www.lancasterfnb.wordpress.com
E-MAIL: fnblancasterpa@gmail.com; lancfnbcrew@yahoogroups.com or lancasterfnb@lists.riseup.net

E-mail: sjurgelski@lnpnews.com