Families in a Food Line at a Flood Tent City

In April or May 1937, men, women, and children stood in line to be fed at a tent city in Shawneetown, Illinois. Russell Lee's photograph records a moment of displaced life after flooding in the Ohio River region.

The image belongs to the Farm Security Administration–Office of War Information collection at the Library of Congress. It does not establish the size of the line or the duration of the wait. What it directly confirms is that flood-displaced families waited in order for food at the temporary settlement.

Relief does not reach people merely because supplies exist. In this improvised community, a meal was distributed through a line in which families gathered and received food one turn at a time.