Food given freely has always been the mainstay of charity, and it is the political nucleus of Food Not Bombs.
But when those in authority object to the politics, free food is seen as a threat.That hasn't happened in Salt Lake City. But in San Francisco, food has been a weapon in a battle between homeless advocates and the city, where an estimated 10,000 people live on the streets.
Since 1988, San Francisco police have made 620 arrests of Food Not Bombs members, 220 in the past five months, said Keith McHenry, a founder and spokesman for the group.
The trouble began when Food Not Bombs refused to obey city orders to quit feeding hungry people from food kitchens in the Golden Gate Park Panhandle - an area where some residents complained of crowds of "leftover hippies and burnt-out druggies" - and at a homeless tent city in the plaza adjacent to City Hall, where city workers voiced much the same complaint.
The resistance has provoked violence. Police in riot gear have clashed with people giving away food, who have responded by flinging food at the officers.
Food Not Bombs also has joined in recent protests of Mayor Frank Jordan's "Matrix" program, which has involved the citing or arresting of thousands of homeless people on such charges as blocking sidewalks, trespassing or urinating in public.
McHenry, who has been charged with felony assault, battery and strongarm robbery, said he has been beaten 10 times and hospitalized four times during the protests.
McHenry says the group's goal is to provide vegetarian food to anybody who needs it. They serve hot meals on the street and in parks to the homeless, the hungry or just passers-by. They also deliver groceries to people in housing projects and to other soup kitchens.
"Our idea was to be really consistent, to intentionally create a community of resistance to a number of things," he said.
Food Not Bombs set up its first open-air serving lines in 1980 on Boston Commons and in Brattle Square in Cambridge, Mass.