Western New York Heritage

Thanksgiving in Buffalo during Depression - 1931

Thanksgiving Day, 1931. Buffalo citizens -- black and white, adult and children -- line up for food on both sides of the entrance to the Volunteers of America at 77 Broadway. That organization, still in existence in 2003 (their web), says, "The Great Depression of the 1930s stretched the nation's private social welfare system almost to the breaking point. Volunteers of America mobilized to assist the millions of people who were unemployed, hungry and homeless. Relief efforts included employment bureaus, wood yards, soup kitchens, and "Penny Pantries" where every food item cost one cent."

77 Broadway is now occupied by the Department of Motor Vehicles office.