The Black Panthers' free breakfast program in Portland

Children at the Black Panthers' free breakfast program with Kent Ford, founding member of the Portland branch. Mr. Ford, now in his 80s ,shares his memories of community organizing and activism during Vanport Mosaic All Power To The People walking tours.

The Black Panthers started the Free Breakfast for School Children Program in Oakland, California, serving nutritionally-balanced meals to inner-city African American children. The program was so popular that it was implemented in cities across the country and served about 10,000 children. The Free Breakfast program, one of the Black Panthers’ many “survival programs” was truly a community effort, run by volunteers and funded by businesses, churches, organizations and community members.