Feeding the Tent City: ‘An army runs on its stomach’

The Tent City here—organized by the Bail Out the People Movement during the G-20 summit—fed hundreds of people three meals a day for almost a week.

For many unemployed and homeless people who took part in this effort to demand jobs and housing for all, it was the first time they had enjoyed food security in a long while.

Barbara Gaston and Sharon Eolis. WW photo: Sharon Black

Black and white organizers from cities like Detroit, Baltimore and New York worked with the Rev. Thomas Smith of the Monumental Baptist Church to set up the Tent City on The Hill, a historically Black community near downtown Pittsburgh.

Preparations started in August with a barbeque where organizers met people from the neighborhood. Barbara Gaston volunteered to coordinate all the meals and help cook for the Tent City. She suggested asking for donations of food from local vendors.

Gwen Ware of Rev. Smith’s church helped obtain additional food from the Community Area Food Bank.

The food bank provided large bags of breads, croissants, muffins and rolls—enough for the whole week. Tent City volunteers also picked up crates of tomatoes, boxes of sliced onions, pounds of frozen green beans and other vegetables and fruits. We also obtained fish, chicken, a case of hamburgers and other meat and eggs. Most of this food had to be used right away to avoid the risk of spoilage.

We still needed milk, cereal, sugar, coffee, tea and water. We got a store card from one of the big local chains and saved a couple hundred dollars. At another discount place, we bought paper goods—one of our most expensive items.

The goal was to serve meals every day, from the March for Jobs on Sunday through Friday morning, the day of the last official protests, but people who arrived early even got breakfast on Saturday.

Due to church activities, the kitchen couldn’t be used for cooking until late Monday afternoon, so our next project was to prepare a cold supper for Sunday, after the March for Jobs. People were served a variety of pasta salads with different vegetables, as well as a green salad and a tuna salad. Those who left after the Sunday march ate before boarding their buses and cars. Food preparations started around 3 p.m. and finished around 10:30 p.m. in the evening. About 300 people were fed.

About one-third of the folks served were vegetarians; some were vegans who brought some of their own food.

The media started to cover the Tent City. After adults and children were interviewed and asked the public for donations, people in the community responded and brought 40 cases of water plus homemade cakes, pasta dishes, salads and stuffed peppers.

Meantime, community people were attending the discussion programs at the Tent City. Some joined us for meals.

During the week many volunteers peeled large amounts of potatoes, husked bags of corn, and washed dishes and cooking pots. Others served food wearing gloves—a Health Department requirement—and the Tent City passed inspection.

Among the volunteers was an unemployed professional cook from Florida who helped produce several meals. This writer worked each day from breakfast until the last pan was put away at night. It was a wonderful experience. This multinational group of people from various backgrounds came together to make the March for Jobs and the Tent City a success. They showed the world that people in the U.S. are ready to struggle for jobs and health care and to stop foreclosures and evictions.

This small army of unemployed workers set a splendid example for the working class.