Meeting Duration Motion 2026
MAIN MOTION
The FA-EAI Maine Chapter moves to change the FA meeting duration provision for meeting registration to 60 or 90 minutes, which allows each group to determine which option best meets the needs of their members.
CURRENT WORDING
FA WSI Standing Rules of Order Manual (SRO)
2024 June: 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
PROPOSED WORDING
FA WSI Standing Rules of Order Manual (SRO)
2024 June: 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 60 or 90 minutes
RATIONALE
Currently, FA meeting groups are required to meet for a duration of 90 minutes. The proposed motion amends this requirement to provide essential meeting autonomy. If passed, individual FA meeting groups would be allowed to register as a 60- or 90-minute meeting, based on the needs of their members.
For the power of FA to reach as many people as possible, it needs to be as accessible as possible. While we’ve expanded our reach with the recent advent of videoconference and phone meetings, the 90-minute meeting limits it. This withholds FA as a solution from many who would otherwise find healing, solace, God/Higher Power, spiritual growth, and community.
Food addiction in 2025
In the nearly 30 years since FA’s founding, the incidence of disordered eating has continued to grow worldwide. In the United States alone it is estimated that 9% of the population will experience disordered eating in their lifetime, which translates to approximately 28.8 million people.
Today only about one in five people with eating disorders in the U.S. receive any kind treatment: Financial, geographic, diagnostic, and insurance-barrier inequalities leave the vast majority to cope alone.
Making recovery accessible is not optional — it is a matter of life or death. The problem of addiction continues to grow and 12-Step programs continue to be a viable solution for millions of people.
Potential FA members
Working people today (ages 18-65) have significantly less time because of varied work schedules and family demands. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2025 that 8.9 million people work multiple jobs, the highest number since the agency began tracking in 1994. They have less money. They are caring for young children and elderly parents at the same time. The general population is aging, and the rates of mental and physical disabilities are rising, creating additional barriers to recovery.
All these issues point to the need for us to make the gift of the FA program as accessible as possible to anyone who is interested — to meet them closer to where they are in their lives today.
Many potential FA members are already familiar with the 60-minute meeting model. Other 12-Step programs have supported the contented recovery of their members through 60-minute meetings for decades. There’s even precedent within our own fellowship — FA members who lived on the frontier before the advent of videoconference and phone meetings obtained and maintained their abstinence by attending 60-minute A.A. meetings.
Conclusion
At the 1986 A.A. General Service Conference Closing Talk, Bob P. said, “If you were to ask me what is the greatest danger facing A.A. today, I would answer: the growing rigidity… If we ever falter and fail, it will be simply because of us. It will be because we can't control our own egos or get along well enough with each other. It will be because we have too much fear and rigidity and not enough trust and common sense.”
Bob P. was acknowledging that recovery is not static. Bill Wilson wrote in The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, “Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us.” Just as in healthcare or education, innovation and evolution ensures that the approach stays alive, relevant, and effective for the next generation.
FA has been asking itself these same questions: At the 2025 FA World Service Business Convention the conference held a brainstorming session and asked the question: “How do we ensure FA attracts and is welcoming to the next generation of food addicts?” The issue of meeting length was raised multiple times in response.
Flexibility and authenticity are key to attracting the next generation of food addicts. If we engage people in a 12-Step context that bridges tradition with what resonates in today’s world, FA will remain sustainable, relevant, and growing.
Modifying our meeting requirements to allow an FA meeting group to meet for 60 minutes supports FA in fulfilling its primary purpose: to carry its message to the food addict who still suffers.
