How this free food fest came to be

I’ve been involved with a number of other people in serving up free food in public spaces with Food Not Bombs for over 3 years now, but the idea of really doing it up big – a free food festival – had been in the back of my mind for a while.

Prince Edward County is known for its foodie culture and lots of delicious food is grown and made here. The place is also home to some great people, lots of generous and talented people, which makes this a special place to live.

Unfortunately, the County also has the second highest rate of food insecurity in the province. So while we have all this great stuff, we definitely have serious issues, too.

I’m not going to go into my thoughts here on why that might be and what we might do about it (though, I’m always happy to chat with people about that ;)

Rather, I want to focus in this post on the Awesome Foundation and the trustees that decided to give me the cash to make this free festival happen in our community.

The thing I like about the Awesome Foundation is the simplicity of it. People submit ideas that they think will be awesome for their community, a bunch of local people listen to the ideas, decide on the one they like through consensus, and then put some of their own money toward making it happen. There's no government involvement, no business trying to promote itself or group looking for recognition. The person with a winning idea gets cash in an envelope and goes away. No one has to report back, fill out grant reports, or feel indebted. There’s a trust – a sort of moral contract – that says, “thanks, I really appreciate that you liked my idea, that you put some money towards it, and I’m going to make it happen.”

I was a trustee myself when the PEC Awesome Foundation started. It was really fun and cool to be able to contribute.

The Awesome Foundation does this a few times a year. If you have a good idea, you should apply. Check it out online to see what other people around the world have done through this initiative. Some of the ideas are really out there!

Lastly, thanks to all the trustees who chose to support me and this project, and love and thanks to my Food Not Bombs friends who encouraged me.

See you all at Feast!

Christine