Keith McHenry started Food Not Bombs in 1980, and today it shares free meals in more than 1,000 cities in over 70 countries with no paid staff and no headquarters. Susan Finch and Keith talk about why that works. He explains how keeping it local and built around a task brings people together, and how the people in line include mechanics, electricians, and workers who still can't rent an apartment. Susan shares how Binky Patrol runs with nobody paid, why she meets every new chapter leader on Zoom, and what the chapters have learned from 30 years of trying things. They also talk about volunteer burnout, rotating roles so one person isn't doing everything, and a Bink-a-Thon in Temecula where blankets went flying down the street. If you've wanted to help but didn't know where to start, start with your neighbors.

Local and simple wins. Keith says Food Not Bombs spread to more than 1,000 cities because it gives people one clear task to do together in their own town.

The line is full of skills. When a Food Not Bombs vehicle breaks down, Keith asks if there's a mechanic in line, and there always is.

No paid staff by design. Both Food Not Bombs and Binky Patrol chose from the start to have nobody paid, and both still run that way.

The mission is the guidepost. Susan meets every new chapter leader on Zoom and checks every project back to Binky Patrol's mission before it goes forward.

Share the load to prevent burnout. Splitting days, rotating roles, and handing off what's in your head keeps local leaders from doing everything alone.

Teachers grow big chapters. Binky Patrol's largest chapters are led by teachers or former teachers whose former students still show up when asked.

• 00:00 Why local volunteers matter right now
• 00:52 Meet Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs
• 01:17 Serving at the Santa Cruz post office and the party spirit
• 02:06 A midnight speech at the Pine Street Inn and the start of Food Not Bombs
• 03:04 Why a local, task-oriented group becomes a movement
• 03:50 Hunger doesn't change with who's in office
• 04:15 Opening a church pickleball court to the unhoused
• 05:26 Getting housed and unhoused people talking
• 05:51 The mechanic in line and the skills people bring
• 06:41 Working and still unable to rent
• 07:30 Friendships, marriages, and the Belfast story
• 08:15 No copyright, no paid staff, and an open logo
• 09:30 The Seven Steps flyer after the 1988 arrests
• 10:19 Binky Patrol has nobody paid
• 10:58 Why Susan meets every new chapter leader on Zoom
• 12:04 How Food Not Bombs chapters self-correct
• 12:58 The three Food Not Bombs principles
• 13:56 The 1995 world gathering, Indymedia, and pirate radio
• 16:02 Saying yes and trying things
• 16:38 Thirty years of laughs and lessons at Binky Patrol
• 17:30 Teachers are a superpower
• 17:56 Fanzine stories of pulling it off anyway
• 18:50 Blankets flying down the street at the Temecula Bink-a-Thon
• 19:39 A 92-year-old who crocheted 40 blankets
• 19:55 Finding Food Not Bombs in Portland
• 20:43 Hungry for Peace and the Portland model
• 21:43 Sharing the days to prevent burnout
• 22:49 Every group has a connector, and a PSA for volunteers
• 24:01 Rotating roles and the bottom liner cook
• 24:53 Youth and a philosophy open to everyone
• 27:06 Finding himself in a book in Tel Aviv
• 27:36 Food as a connector and wrap-up
• 28:43 Where to find Keith and the show

Shipping labels, blankets, and fabric across the country adds up fast for an all-volunteer nonprofit. In this short episode, Susan Finch shares the tools Binky Patrol uses to keep everyday operating costs down. She talks about switching to Pirate Ship for the labels Donna sends to chapters, how much it has saved, and why a post office clerk calling it a scam isn't worth worrying about. Susan also covers TechSoup for discounted Microsoft software, hardware, and QuickBooks, Google Workspace for branded volunteer email at no cost, and how Rania sets up forwarding for volunteers who live in Yahoo or AOL. She wraps up with her take on GoDaddy and why Binky Patrol hosts its WordPress site on Rocket.net instead. If your nonprofit is paying full price for things it could get for almost nothing, start here.

Pirate Ship cuts postage costs. Binky Patrol saves about half on shipping by buying postage through pirateship.com instead of paying at the counter.

Weigh and measure first. You need a scale and a tape measure, and it pays to round the weight up a little.

Ignore the counter pushback. Pirate Ship is legitimate and approved, even if a post office clerk tells you otherwise.

Register with TechSoup. Any 501(c)(3) can get discounted Microsoft software, hardware, phones, and services like QuickBooks.

Brand every volunteer email. Google Workspace is free for 501(c)(3)s, so chapter leaders can use their name @binkypatrol.org and forward it to the inbox they already check.

Skip GoDaddy for hosting. Rocket.net includes SSL and backups, and its support team is all human.

Susan Finch marks 30 years of Binky Patrol with an update for chapter leaders and volunteers everywhere. Directors are flying in from across the country for a September 19 gathering in Thousand Oaks, and Susan shares the story of a Utah mom raising nine kids who wants to turn blanket making into a family project and maybe a new drop-off location. Chapter report forms are getting simpler, Bink-a-Thon season kicks off October 17, and Susan explains why Binkys Out matters more than Binkys In. New volunteer paths are opening too, including a Greek life partnership starting at Oregon State. Whether you lead a chapter, want to start one, or just want to make one blanket and give it away, this episode has a place for you.

Susan Finch spent last weekend running what she calls Fleece Weekend, handing out $1,200 worth of donated fabric to Binky Patrol volunteers in ten- and fifteen-minute visits at her Beaverton home. In this episode, she reflects on what she noticed during those short visits and what it revealed about the difference between artists and crafters, knowing that the two merge quiet frequently. Artists, she says, tend to create alone - they get in their zone. Crafters crave, or thrive being part of a community, even when they finish a project on their own. Susan talks about feeling isolated during a normal work week and why gathering with other volunteers, even briefly, brings a different kind of joy than solitary creative work. She also shares why she believes people right now want a way to feel useful and connected, and how a single hour a month making blankets for kids in need can do exactly that.

Learn more at https://binkypatrol.org

Some "I dare yous":

• Reach out to Binky Patrol about volunteering, even if you can only give an hour a month
• Email Susan directly at sfinch@binkypatrol.org if you want to get involved or ask questions
• Visit binkypatrol.org to find a chapter near you
• If there's no chapter nearby, ask about starting one
• Try a small crafting project with a friend this week and notice how it feels different from crafting alone
• Listen to more episodes at binkypatrol.show

Rania Dudum and Zoe Rucker are in their early twenties, juggling work, school, roommates, and everything else that comes with that stage of life. They still make time for Binky Patrol, and in this episode they tell Susan why.

Rania describes her first Bink-A-Thon, where volunteers who had never met made nearly 300 blankets in five hours. Zoe explains why the lowest barrier to entry she has ever seen keeps her coming back. Together they cover eight new chapters opened this year, a crochet creator with 200,000 followers who posted about Binky Patrol after a single message, and the legacy afghans that found new purpose with children in crisis.

Susan closes with a look back at 30 years and a wish: a Binky Patrol chapter in every county in America.

Rania Dudum [00:02:10]:

“Getting to spend an hour out of your day making a blanket can impact the life of a child for the rest of theirs.”

Zoe Rucker [00:05:20]:

“It’s a serious thing, but it is, like, genuinely the most unserious thing, I feel like if you want to get involved, all you have to do is make a blanket, and that could take an hour or you could spend days doing it.”

Learn more at https://binkypatrol.org and how you can get involved.

It's Binky Patrol's 30th anniversary. Susan Finch marks the week with a look back at how one mention on The Oprah Winfrey Show launched the organization into 48 states almost overnight. She invites every chapter and supporter to celebrate this Saturday, gather friends, finish a stash project or a UFO, and send photos of how they marked the milestone. Susan also introduces Comforting in Color, a flexible new project any group, school, church, or business can run. Plus a look back at three decades of memories: golf tournaments, a summer of community quilting at a Wells Fargo branch, the Founder's Day Parade, braille binkies for blind children, and two throwback clips revisiting the chaos and joy of Disney's Give a Day Get a Day program and a massive Girl Scout troop blanket drive. Thank you to the national partners who made 30 years possible.

Learn More: https://binkypatrol.org

Donate: https://binkypatrol.org/donate-to-binky-patrol

More Ways to Help: https://binkypatrol.org/ways-to-help/

Thirty years national — One Oprah Winfrey Show mention launched Binky Patrol into roughly 48 states almost overnight.

Comforting in Color launch — A new flexible project any group, school, church, or business can run in their own space.

Anniversary celebration invite — Susan invites every chapter and supporter to mark the milestone this Saturday with friends and a stash project.

Time capsule reveal — Susan's chapter will finally open a sealed time capsule from the 1990s that's never been touched.

Early supporters thanked — Susan thanks founding-era volunteers and partners, including the original golf tournament organizers and a Wells Fargo branch that hosted a summer of community quilting.

Disney and Girl Scout memories — Two archived clips revisit the chaotic, joyful drop-off days from Disney's Give a Day Get a Day program and a massive Girl Scout troop blanket drive.

Four Binky Patrol directors — Miriam Siegel (Nebraska), Carolyn Berndt (Thousand Oaks), Terrie Madruga (Idaho), and Jeanne Malgioglio (Connecticut) — join founder Susan Finch for a 30th anniversary conversation that is equal parts laughter, tears, and gratitude.

"I'm here to help. Can't sew, but here I am." — Carolyn Berndt, arriving eight months pregnant to her first Binky meeting

You'll hear Miriam's story of finding a tiny newspaper ad and calling her mom instantly. Carolyn showing up eight months pregnant, unable to cut a straight line, and becoming a public speaking powerhouse. Terrie turning "I have no talent" into every volunteer having a title and a purpose. And Jeanne — the newest director — already mastering the art of moving 500 blankets across the country on donated trucks.

Missing today but never forgotten: Tom, Marlys, and Donna Serra — each one a quiet, steady force behind the mission.

This one will make you cry. In the best way.

Jeanne started her Connecticut chapter one town over from Newtown. After Sandy Hook, she and her friends made 3,000 green and white scarves. When it was over, everyone asked what was next. They found Binky Patrol. That was twelve years ago.

Barbara joined as the chapter's voice, connector, and fundraiser — rheumatoid arthritis in her hands, no shortage of heart. Together they've delivered blankets to 199 students after a classmate's murder, to a Florida family stranded in Connecticut ICU beds, to a young man with spinal muscular atrophy who was given a year to live and is now 21.

"All I want is for him to be remembered. When his friends say, 'What can we do for you, Barb?' I says, 'Don't forget his father. Don't forget me. But more importantly, don't ever forget him.'" - Barb

This year the Connecticut chapter is aiming to hit 30,000 total blankets — a number that lands squarely on Binky Patrol's 30th anniversary.

Listen and find chapter info at binkypatrol.org.