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GREENSBORO -- The dinner in progress at St. Mary's House looks fresh and nutritious.

"Stormy" Piper prepares a salad of organic greens, carrots and bright red tomatoes.

Leafy green Swiss chard will be used for a vegetarian stir fry. There's also a fruit salad of apples, pears and oranges. Unused food is tossed into a plastic container on the floor to be used as compost for a local garden.

Those who come to St. Mary's for dinner on Tuesday and Thursday know two things: The meal will most likely be vegetarian. And it will be prepared with food that otherwise would be thrown away. That's the premise of Food Not Bombs, a national organization with chapters throughout the country, including Greensboro.

The grass-roots movement began in Cambridge, Mass., in 1980. Its supporters stand for nonviolent social change and oppose war.

Anyone who comes to St. Mary's House can help prepare dinner. Some volunteers have homes, jobs and cars. Others are homeless and struggle to find work. And some struggle to make ends meet. In this hot, busy kitchen at St. Mary's, it just doesn't matter. They stand shoulder to shoulder, chopping, dicing, stirring and mixing.

By 6:30, the buffet table is set with toasted whole-wheat bread, the salads, mashed potatoes and a pan of stir-fried vegetables.

Food Not Bombs participant Tim Hutchinson points out yet another thing that's different about this meal. The diners - mostly men - serve themselves, filling their plates high. They can get what they want and as much of it as they like. That's usually not the case when you're homeless or poor.

With most free-food programs, meals are served by volunteers who control what and how much is received. And there's usually a clear distinction between servers and guests, homeless advocate Michele Forrest says. She says the coolest thing about Food Not Bombs is that the people who eat also participate in creating the meals.

"That's the way that you build community the best," Forrest says. "By recognizing that people are the same, and that they can contribute. Everybody has value and worth. I just think it's a beautiful model."

Food Not Bombs volunteer Brian Rogers is a testament to this. He first came to St. Mary's House for the meals. He began helping in the kitchen, because he felt guilty not doing so. Rogers, who says he "stays here and there," doesn't have a job. His role with the group gives him a purpose, he says.

"If I'm not making money, I might as well do something," Rogers says. "I like to help people out."

By taking ownership in their own meals, volunteers can even ask fellow diners for input. Before adding butter to the mashed potatoes one evening, Piper steps out of the kitchen and asks the group if everyone can eat dairy products. She doesn't like sprouts and requested that they not be added to the salad.

That's the other thing

Forrest likes about Food Not Bombs: the healthier meals. Healthier food options aren't always readily available for the poor or homeless, Forrest says. If you're on the streets, your diet doesn't usually include organic fruits and vegetables. They tend to cost more, and most free meal programs don't usually feature them on the menu.

Greensboro's Food Not Bombs uses produce donated by Earth Fare grocery store and Deep Roots, an organic food co-operative. The produce may be slightly bruised or overripened but is still usable. Volunteers collect the donations daily. Local bakeries Great Harvest Bread Company and Simple Kneads also donate a variety of baked goods. Often, there's enough food and bread for people to take some with them after the meal. Sometimes they bring their own plastic bags or containers.

The vegetarian meals don't appeal to everyone. Grace Community Church serves dinner to as many as 200

people on Wednesday. Fried chicken and baked spaghetti nights are especially popular. Food Not Bombs may attract as few as 15 or as many as 30 diners. People frequently ask the kitchen crew if there will be any meat that evening. If there isn't, they may go elsewhere.

But Greensboro's Food Not Bombs chapter isn't as strict as others about its vegetarian policy. Sometimes local caterers offer leftovers from events. All donations are taken, including meat.

"It's called Freegan," Hutchinson says.

A few months ago, Food Not Bombs started giving away fruits and vegetables at The Hive on Friday afternoon.

The group sometimes meets at the nonprofit community center in Glenwood. The food is usually whatever wasn't used for meals earlier that week.

People start showing up before the distribution begins at 4 p.m. Kymber Owens , a Food Not Bombs volunteer and Glenwood resident, selects a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts one Friday. She gives a few to her 20-month-old daughter, Asha.

On this day, there are boxes of cabbages. The outer leaves are yellow, but the core is still usable. There are slightly overripe papaya, kiwi and whole prickly pineapples. Some there have never tried such fruits before. One man discovered that once he got past the fuzzy brown skin of the kiwi, he really enjoyed its sweet taste.

Those who come include couples with small children and the elderly.

Early Scarborough, a Glenwood leader, selected some fruit and a dark loaf of rye bread - something she hadn't had in a long time.

"Rye bread! I love rye bread," she says.

There were so many loaves of bread that one lady offered to use any that went unclaimed to make bread pudding for Food Not Bombs.

Clement Mallory, a former Food Not Bombs volunteer, says Food Not Bombs doesn't just benefit the homeless.

"I think the perception of Food Not Bombs is that people are homeless and don't have the means to feed themselves," he says. "But it's a misperception. It's an opportunity to save money."

As gas prices drive up food prices, more people are showing up at feeding programs, including families with children.

Pat Spain, food distribution director for Greensboro Urban Ministry, says the agency is serving more people now. Last May, about 20,000 meals were served at Potter's House, compared to 20,777 served this past May.

"The need is much greater now. The economy is really bad," Spain says.

If you're cooking a Food Not Bombs meal, you're often winging it.

Meals come together without recipes. Sometimes slaw is made with just cabbage and a little sugar and vinegar. If there isn't butter or milk, mashed potatoes are literally just that - mashed potatoes. You use what you have.

There aren't any rules. And there aren't any leaders. Tasks aren't assigned. They're just done. Someone might start making a fruit salad, then walk away for a few minutes. Upon returning to the kitchen, the volunteer might head to the stove to help with a completely different dish. And someone else finishes the fruit salad.

If dinner isn't ready right at 6 p.m., that's OK, too. It's a goal they work toward, but no one complains if they are a few minutes late.

Volunteer Brian Rogers likes to cook but wants to do so at his own pace.

"I don't like being in a rush to cook," he says.

And that's OK in a Food Not Bombs kitchen.

Although there aren't any official leaders, volunteer Liz Seymour comes closest to fitting such a role. It's only because she's the longest-serving volunteer - about eight years - and she can be reached by phone or e-mail. She also has a car, which enables her to pick up donations and make deliveries.

On Monday, the group serves dinner at the Greensboro Public Library's Central Branch. It's served along the brick wall between the library and YWCA Place. In the winter months, they move into the library's Nussbaum Room. The Monday meals are prepared at Seymour's home near UNCG. Volunteers show up there to help cook or load the car.

Seymour derives joy and satisfaction from watching the collaboration among volunteers to pull together a meal. Each person brings his or her own special talents or twist to a dish. Their concoctions won't make the cover of Gourmet magazine, but they evoke a rustic simplicity that's appealing to Seymour. These are meals prepared with good intentions and what one appreciative diner describes as "the recipe of love."

People have asked Seymour if the group has considered applying for grants, which might enable food purchases from stores such as Costco or Wal-Mart. But that would go against the Food Not Bombs philosophy. The group is accountable only to itself and those it serves, Seymour says. Some of Greensboro's Food Not Bombs volunteers describe themselves as anarchists - anti-government, anti-war and anti-consumer spending. Many volunteers also oppose hierarchical leadership structures. Plus, they like using reclaimed food.

"Hunger in America could be eliminated with what's thrown away," Hutchinson says.

At most, Greensboro's Food Not Bombs chapter may spend $500 a year to provide three meals a week. By next month, chapter members hope to begin serving meals out of their own kitchen at The Hive.

There's some speculation about how this could affect the Tate Street crowd's ability to attend the dinners. But there's also a lot of need in Glenwood, Seymour says.

The poor or homeless can eat at least one free meal every day in Greensboro. Urban Ministry's Potter's House and a number of churches offer free meals. Pastor Frank Dew's church, New Creation Community Presbyterian Church, provides a free meal and worship service on Sunday.

"I think that helping to feed people and advocating for the needs of the poor among us is something that we all need to be doing," Dew says.

Whether the meal is served at St. Mary's House or Central Library, it's not unusual for diners to linger after dinner.

At the library, people sit on benches or along the brick wall between the library and the Church Street parking deck.

Jessie Graves complimented the volunteers on the meal one recent Monday. Although she doesn't always eat, she likes to come anyway.

"There are good people here," she says.

At St. Mary's, people may sit on the porch swing. These days, they might also lounge inside, where it's cooler. One man, who identifies himself as "Ike E" comes to dinner most Tuesdays and Thursdays. He lives on Silver Avenue and calls himself the "official taster" for Food Not Bombs.

He occasionally goes to Grace Community Church on Wednesday but isn't as comfortable in larger crowds. He prefers the company of the smaller St. Mary's group.

"(At St. Mary's), you can sit back on the couch, hang out with the boys or sit back with a full stomach and tell a lie or two," he says, with a grin.

One of his friends doesn't even eat at St. Mary's, because he likes to eat meat. He comes just to hang out.

Piper started volunteering this winter. She said she returns for the camaraderie as much as for the meals.

"The volunteers have become my family since all of my family is in New Jersey," Piper says.

Although he doesn't cook, Hutchinson shows up at St. Mary's long before the meal is served. He just likes being there.

"It's more than fixing food. It's connecting with others," he says.

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com