EAI 2026 Motion - Ottawa - Revised Meeting Requirements

2026 FA World Service Business Convention

SHORT NAME: Revised Meeting Requirements

MAIN MOTION

The Ottawa, Canada, Thursday, 1pm EST, videoconference meeting group moves to amend Article IV, section 1(d) of the WSI Bylaws, and the standing rule of order from June 2024 entitled “Meeting Requirements.” 

Note: To maximize readability, the layout of this motion is as follows: 

• Proposed Wording. New language is in green. Deleted language is in red. 

• Rationale for the changes in the proposed language

• Current Wording as it exists in our WSI governing documents.

PROPOSED WORDING

Article IV, Section 1(d) of the WSI Bylaws and the standing rule of order from June 2024 entitled “Meeting Requirements” shall be modified as specified below.

WSI Bylaws - Article IV, Section 1. FA Meeting Groups

(a)...
(b)...
(c)…

(d) Registered FA meeting groups must meet the following requirements:

1. Welcome all who have a desire to stop eating addictively. 

2. Adhere to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of FA.

3. Include the following in each meeting format:
   Use one of the FA Meeting Formats in the Meeting Guidelines Documents posted on the FA website. Each format must include the following:

1. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of FA.

2. The definitions of food addiction and abstinence, as stated in Article II, Section 3 of these bylaws.

3. The requirement that only members of the fellowship with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA be invited to share.

4. The requirement that only members of the fellowship with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA shall have a voice and vote at FA meeting group business meetings.

WSI Standing Rules of Order - June 2024 “Meeting Requirements”

An FA meeting group is an association of two or more food addicts who regularly meet to share experience, strength, and hope about recovery from food addiction through the Twelve Steps of FA. The requirements for registration as an FA meeting group are stated below. The provisions marked with an asterisk (*) come from Article IV, Section 1 of the WSI Bylaws and can only be amended by following the process for amending the Bylaws.

1. *Meet in person, by videoconference (including telephone access), or by  telephone 

2. Meet for either 60 or 90 minutes, as determined by the group conscience of each meeting

3. If it is an in-person meeting, meet in a facility that is open to the public and arrange chairs in theater style, in rows facing the speaker

4. *Have as its primary purpose carrying the FA message of recovery to food addicts who still suffer

5. *Register with an FA intergroup and comply with its bylaws

6. *Comply with the WSI bylaws

7. *Welcome all who have a desire to stop eating addictively

8. *Adhere to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of FA

9. Offer for sale or distribution or for reading during a meeting only the following:

   1. FA Conference-approved literature

   2. FA Conference-recognized literature

   3. WSI board-approved material

   4. Material distributed by the boards or committees of WSI, FA intergroups, or FA chapters

   5. telephone lists of registered FA meetings

   6. meeting directories of registered FA meetings

   7. FA Information Session notices

10. Refrain from distributing food plans as approved meeting documents. However, food plans may be shared between sponsors and sponsees as a component of the complete FA program of recovery.

11. Elect the following service positions: 

    1. WSI contact

    2. meeting contact

    3. intergroup contact

    4. chapter contact (if registered with an FA chapter as well as an FA intergroup)

    5. secretary

    6. treasurer

    7. greeter

12. Use an FA meeting format that includes these required items, maintaining the official wording for items found on the FA website for items a-f:
    Use the appropriate FA Meeting Format found on the FA website, which includes these required items:

1. the FA Preamble

2. *the Twelve Steps as adapted by FA

3. *the Twelve Traditions as adapted by FA

4. *the definition of food addiction

5. *the definition of abstinence

6. How it Works and “The Promises” from A.A.’s Big Book

7. the FA tools of recovery

8. A break approximately midway through the meeting for greeting newcomers and visitors

9. *the statement that only persons with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA who are working with an FA sponsor will be invited to share

10. *the statement that only persons with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA who are working with an FA sponsor and who regularly attend the meeting will have a voice and a vote at the meeting group’s business meetings

11. Identification of available sponsors and greeters

12. Information on how to donate as per the Seventh Tradition
    Announcements welcoming newcomers and visitors, identifying available sponsors, and explaining how to donate as per the Seventh Tradition.

Suggested formats for 60-minute and 90-minute meetings are provided on the FA website, but these may be changed as long as they are consistent with the Twelve Traditions and the other requirements noted in this SRO.

Items 12(a)-(g), (i), and (j) may not be altered from the wording in the FA Meeting Formats found on the FA website.

Suggested wording for the announcements listed in item 12(k) and for a section on guidelines or rules of meeting etiquette are provided in the FA Meeting Formats on the FA website, but these may be changed to suit individual meetings.

Any group of people that chooses not to adhere to the registration requirements above will not be recognized as a registered FA meeting group. The group will not appear on the FA website or be listed in any FA meeting directories, may not use the FA name or format, and may not have its meetings announced at FA group meetings, intergroup meetings, or chapter meetings.

RATIONALE

1. Providing two options for meeting duration will give FA meeting groups the autonomy to determine for themselves what works best. Videoconference meetings, for example, may find that it is best to have 60-minute meetings in order to limit eye strain from overexposure to digital screens. Shorter meetings may also be helpful to FA members who are single parents or workers with unusual work schedules. On the other hand, in-person meetings may find that they benefit most from continuing with 90-minute meetings.

2. Eliminating the requirements to read the FA tools and “How It Works” will allow more time for sharing and possibly keep the message of recovery easier to digest for newcomers.

3. Eliminating the requirement for a “welcome” statement in the format seems like an odd suggestion, but our Preamble functions as a statement of welcome, and greeters also perform this function. Because of the importance of being welcoming, the position of greeter is added as a required service position.

4. Eliminating the requirement for a break is, again, a means of making 60-minute meetings feasible. Meetings that continue to meet for 90 minutes will most likely want to keep a break, while hour-long meetings can accomplish a similar purpose by encouraging newcomers and greeters to stay after the meeting and/or can choose to keep a mid-meeting break if they wish.

5. Eliminating the requirement to use the exact wording of sample formats on our website gives meetings the autonomy to determine what works best for them when it comes to the wording of optional items such as announcements.

CURRENT WORDING

WSI Bylaws

Article IV, Section 1. FA Meeting Groups

(a)...
(b)...
(c)…

(d) Registered FA meeting groups must meet the following requirements:

1. Welcome all who have a desire to stop eating addictively. 

2. Adhere to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of FA.

3. Use one of the FA Meeting Formats in the Meeting Guidelines Documents posted on the FA website. Each format must include the following:

   1. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of FA.

   2. The definitions of food addiction and abstinence, as stated in Article II, Section 3 of these bylaws.

   3. The requirement that only members of the fellowship with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA be invited to share.

   4. The requirement that only members of the fellowship with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA shall have a voice and vote at FA meeting group business meetings.

Standing Rules of Order

June 2024 “Meeting Requirements”

An FA meeting group is an association of two or more food addicts who regularly meet to share experience, strength, and hope about recovery from food addiction through the Twelve Steps of FA. The requirements for registration as an FA meeting group are stated below. The provisions marked with an asterisk (*) come from Article IV, Section 1 of the WSI Bylaws and can only be amended by following the process for amending the Bylaws.

1. Meet in person, by videoconference (including telephone access), or by telephone* 

2. Meet for 90 minutes

3. If it is an in-person meeting, meet in a facility that is open to the public and arrange chairs in theater style, in rows facing the speaker

4. Have as it primary purpose carrying the FA message of recovery to food addicts who still suffer*

5. Register with an FA intergroup and comply with its bylaws*

6. Comply with the WSI bylaws*

7. Welcome all who have a desire to stop eating addictively*

8. Adhere to the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of FA

9. Offer for sale or distribution or for reading during a meeting only the following:

   1. FA Conference-approved literature

   2. FA Conference-recognized literature

   3. WSI board-approved material

   4. Material distributed by the boards or committees of WSI, FA intergroups, or FA chapters

   5. telephone lists of registered FA meetings

   6. meeting directories of registered FA meetings

   7. FA Information Session notices

10. Refrain from distributing food plans as approved meeting documents. However, food plans may be shared between sponsors and sponsees as a component of the complete FA program of recovery.

11. Elect the following required service positions:

1. WSI contact
2. meeting contact
3. intergroup contact
4. chapter contact (if registered with an FA chapter as well as an FA intergroup)
5. Secretary
6. treasurer 

12. Use the appropriate FA Meeting Format found on the FA website, which includes these required items:

1. the FA Preamble
2. the Twelve Steps as adapted by FA*
3. the Twelve Traditions as adapted by FA*
4. the definition of food addiction*
5. the definition of abstinence*
6. How it Works and “The Promises” from A.A.’s Big Book
7. the FA tools of recovery
8. A break approximately midway through the meeting for greeting newcomers and visitors
9. the statement that only persons with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA who are working with an FA sponsor will be invited to share*
10. the statement that only persons with 90 days or more of continuous abstinence in FA who are working with an FA sponsor and who regularly attend the meeting will have a voice and a vote at the meeting group’s business meetings*
11. Announcements welcoming newcomers and visitors, identifying available sponsors, and explaining how to donate as per the Seventh Tradition.

Items 12(a)-(g), (i), and (j) may not be altered from the wording in the FA Meeting Formats found on the FA website.

Suggested wording for the announcements listed in item 12(k) and for a section on guidelines or rules of meeting etiquette are provided in the FA Meeting Formats on the FA website, but these may be changed to suit individual meetings.

Any group of people that chooses not to adhere to the registration requirements above will not be recognized as a registered FA meeting group. The group will not appear on the FA website or be listed in any FA meeting directories, may not use the FA name or format, and may not have its meetings announced at FA group meetings, intergroup meetings, or chapter meetings.