The original Black Panther Party developed a series of social programs to provide needed services to the people. Their intent was to promote "a model for an alternative, more humane social scheme." These programs, of which there came to be more than 60, were eventually referred to as Survival Programs, and were operated by the Party members under the slogan "survival pending revolution." The Free Breakfast for Children Program was the first Survival Programs the original Black Panther Party created. It was started on January 1969 at a small Catholic church in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, and spread to many cities in America where there were original Black Panther Party chapters. The Program became so popular that by the end of the year, the original Black Panther Party set up kitchens in cities across the nation, feeding over 10,000 children each and every day. Through this program, the Party under this program provided a free breakfasts for thousands of children before they went to school. The Black Panther Party believed that "Children cannot reach their full academic potential if they have empty stomachs." Thousands of poor and hungry children were fed free breakfasts every day by the original Black Panther Party. In addition to the Free Breakfast for Children Program, the Black Panther Party created and provided many other Survival Programs such as: People’s Free Ambulance Service: The service provided free, rapid transportation for sick or injured people without time-consuming checks into the patients’ financial status or means. The People’s Free Ambulance Service operated with at least one ambulance on a 24-hour emergency basis, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a nonemergency or convalescent basis. People were transported to and from the hospital or doctor’s office in a modern, comfortable ambulance by courteous, efficient and knowledgeable attendants. Free Food Program: This program provided free food to Black and other oppressed people. The intent of the Free Food Program was to supplement the groceries of Black and poor people until economic conditions allowed them to purchase good food at reasonable prices. The Free Food Program provided two basic services to the community: 1. An ongoing supply of food to meet their daily needs. 2. Periodic mass distributions of food to reach a larger segment of the community than can be serviced from the ongoing supply. The community was provided with bags of fresh food containing items such as eggs, canned fruits and vegetables, chickens, milk, potatoes, rice, bread, cereal and so forth. A minimum of a week’s supply of food was included in each bag. All Power To The People! Bobby Seale http://bobbyseale.com/
