Written April 22, 2001. Activists in Quebec City provided free food to help fight the FTAA.

Hear the word 'protestor' and images of people peeling turnips
and washing dishes don't spring to mind. Yet this is precisely
the kind of 'direct action' that some folks in Quebec City
have been involved in since Wednesday the 18th. For those who
might doubt the significance of this activity, a look at the
long lines of demonstrators waiting for food in the Ilôt Fleuri
"green" (no risk) zone will surely change their minds.

Without the efforts of the Winnipeg Free Kitchen and People's
Potato of Montreal, the thousands of protestors gathered here
would have been hard-pressed to keep well-fed over the past
few days. At Ilôt Fleuri, where Winnipeg Free Kitchen is operating,
the meals are the center of a whole area of festivities, all
part of the Carnival Against Capitalism.

"There's good energy here," said Jess, while chopping up carrots.
She and two friends came with the specific mission of serving
the cause in this manner. For them, it's a way to contribute
in a safe and enjoyable environment, as well as be in solidarity
with the other protestors. The Free Kitchen and the People's
Potato (located during the protest at CEGEP Limoilou) are coordinating
fully, exchanging equipment and supplies as necessary, according
to Devon, who said that at Ilôt Fleuri they've been feeding
a lot more people than anticipated.

The core group of people from Winnipeg has been planning for
a month and a half. "We knew we wanted to contribute to the
effort, but in a way that would keep us clear of any risk of
arrest," said Devon. Members of the core group have long histories
working with free food distribution, like Karen who's been involved
for the past five years.

Impressive as the commitment of the core group is, their efforts
wouldn't be enough without the help of demonstrators and citizens
of Quebec. While the Free Kitchen brought about a thousand pounds
of food with them, as well as pots, burners and other equipment,
it's been the solidarity of people in the city of Quebec that
has kept up the momentum in the meal service. Not only has a
lot of food been donated by individuals, food distributors and
others, but the gear, donated by Food Not Bombs Winnipeg, was
brought on a union bus, and two local restaurants are supplying
water for cooking, washing and drinking at Ilôt Fleuri.

Aside from the tendency of people to not wash their own dishes,
which irks those involved with the Kitchen, the two main problems
have been getting water, and the infiltration of teargas into
the area, despite its distance from the perimeter. Additionally,
it has been difficult to coordinate the volunteers to make sure
that every task gets done.

There are other, more abstract, difficulties that the Kitchen
faces. One such is criticism, such as heard Saturday when a
call was made to people milling at Ilôt Fleuri to go stand in
solidarity with the protestors at the perimeter. "I've been
up there for the past four hours," moaned one male demonstrator,
who went on to suggest that "all you who've been down here hanging
out in the kitchen should go up."

This kind of delegitimization of the efforts of those preparing
food is disturbing to those involved. Simply supplying food
to thousands of protestors is a massive task, and on top of
that the Free Kitchen has supplies of vinegar and water for
protestors affected by teargas and even sends teams into the
field to help folks. But the deeper implications of considering
the altercations with the police as 'more important' than cooking
were apparent to many of those volunteering in the kitchen.
As Jess says, "typical gender roles have been reproduced one
hundred percent here."

While Jess and others working with her were generally aware
of these issues, Chris, one of a few male volunteers, said "I
didn't think about that." Several different volunteers and
members of the core group agreed that most of the volunteers
who have helped out in the kitchen over the past four days have
been women -- about ninety percent, according to Karen. Most
involved also agreed that when men did volunteer, they did one-time
jobs, like washing a pot or carrying water, while women took
on ongoing tasks which would last for hours.

It's not even as simple as 'women in the kitchen, men in the
field,' as within the Free Kitchen itself gender hierarchies
still need to be dismantled. The perception of volunteers at
the vegetable chopping table that "women are doing the prep
work and men the cooking," is confirmed by the fact that there
is a two to one ratio of men to women in the core group of people.
That notwithstanding, Karen thinks from her experience in England
that there "women do most of the cooking, but here it's more
equal," among groups like the Free Kitchen, the People's Potato
and Food Not Bombs, where a lot of those involved with the Free
Kitchen got their start.

Clearly the issue is not the numbers of bodies involved, but
nonetheless a quality discussion was started on several occasions
around the prep table about these question of gender. As is
often the case when asked about the lack of involvement of certain
groups in 'activism,' several people interviewed said they were
unsure about reasons, or didn't think much about it.

"I think guys might be scared to sit down and chop with a bunch
of women," said one woman, despite the friendly atmosphere of
conversation and relationship building that surrounded the table.
Pancho, another man slicing beets, felt there was no excuse
for men not to assist with the preparation of the meals. "We're
all eating here, we should all pitch in," he said.

The difficulties of reconstructing gender roles aside, the Winnipeg
Free Kitchen performed an excellent service, as important to
the protestors as any delay in the Summit of the Americas, even
if they didn't get much acclaim. But all involved seemed in
consensus that accolades are nothing compared to knowing that
you have just satisfied the hunger of those struggling against
oppression.