Oakland’s “Aunti Frances” continues Black Panther Party legacy of feeding the hungry
By Ryan Yamamoto
Since 2007, Oakland resident Frances Moore, better known as Aunti Frances, has devoted her life to a simple motto of taking care of her community.
“We don’t just feed the homeless, we feed the hungry,” Frances said proudly.
Four days a week, she turns Jasper P. Driver Plaza in North Oakland into a food pantry and kitchen, becoming a place where people can receive fresh produce and groceries, and a hot meal on Tuesday afternoons.
“17 years ago, this place was a hot mess here, and then I realized food is something we all need,” said Frances. “I learned how to use food as a tool to organize the community.”
The Self Help Hunger Program is rooted in the legacy of the Black Panther Party, which helped shape and raise her when she was a young cub.
“I joined because I was a young girl in a foster home, and I had no place to go,” she said.
Today, she feeds more than 2,500 people a month, while finding inspiration in the Black Panthers’ food giveaways and free breakfast programs of the past.
“So, providing those needs of our people, instead of waiting for something to drop out of the sky, we do it,” said Frances. “And so, when you say all power to the people, this is evident that there is power in people.”
Cali Joy Sanchez, a community organizer and board member of the Self Help Hunger Program, says Aunti Frances’s work is vital to the neighborhood and keeping the spirit of the party alive.
“I call myself a revolutionary, and that is what Aunti Frances is, a revolutionary,” said Sanchez. “She is a powerful movement. She is fierce. She is a hurricane. If you see her, she doesn’t stop.”
A woman who is always on the move, providing more than just food, but also health and wellness resources, from massage therapy and medical services meant to heal the body and the soul.
“It’s like medicine, because at the end of the day I could say, ‘What did you do today?'” said Frances. “I could say, ‘We fed the people,’ and that’s my medicine.”
A remedy she hopes will one day provide a permanent cure for her community.
The Self Help Hunger Program relies on community donations. To give, you can donate here.
