1966 – Founding of the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast Program

On June 8, 1966, the Black Panther Party formally launched its Free Breakfast for Children Program in Oakland, California. The initiative began informally earlier in the year but expanded significantly by this date, offering daily meals to thousands of children in underserved Black communities. The program was revolutionary in that it provided not just nutrition, but also a sense of dignity and empowerment. It brought attention to food insecurity and poverty as systemic issues, not personal failings. By the early 1970s, the program had served hundreds of thousands of meals across multiple U.S. cities. Despite FBI efforts to discredit it, the program became a model for later public school breakfast initiatives. June 8 marks a key milestone in the legacy of community-based activism led by the Panthers.