The food was primarily meant to support the attorneys and volunteers who gathered at the airport to offer up their services to the remaining travelers from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Sudan who were still detained at the airport Sunday morning. The effort grew to include distributing supplies to the throngs of protesters at the airport.
Candice Russell was one of the first to arrive at DFW Friday night with food and water for the families of those being detained and a growing group of protestors. Russell, who is both Middle Eastern and Latina, said it was a choice between getting involved or spending the day in despair.
Dallas chefs and restaurateurs took a massive car-load of food to DFW airport protesters and attorneys working to free detainees on Sunday.
Courtesy of Amy Wallace Cowan
On Sunday morning, when Oddfellows often overflows with hungry brunch-goers, owner Amy Wallace Cowan and chef Anastacia Quinones were busy organizing food donations from area restaurants, what Cowan calls "comfort and nourishment in a trying and desperate time."
Oddfellows, Trompo, Emporium Pies, Chino Chinatown, Braindead Brewing, Kitchen LTO and Parigi all donated food to take to protesters, and Jennifer Uygur from Lucia pitched in with assembly since Lucia is closed on Sunday. "Cane Rosso sent 20 pizzas and Katherine Clapner brought pastries out mid-afternoon," Cowan says.
By mid-day Sunday, the alcove at DFW was overflowing with food. In order to get food and water to the protesters, Russell sent volunteers out on dispatch with bags full of crackers, chips, and other snacks to distribute to anyone who hadn't made it to one of the ancillary refreshment areas.
Cowan says the vibe at the massive protest was "peaceful but insistent."
"They were chanting, and every time the doors would open, they would cheer — I'm assuming so the people behind the doors could hear them," Cowan says. After delivering food to protesters, Cowan and Quinones took lunch for about 30 to the Grand Hyatt, where attorneys had holed up to work on getting detainees freed.
For Cowan, it was an incredibly emotional day. "We cried. We were thanked, not just for food, but for being supportive," she says.
"It felt like it was more family-focused than the Women's March," Cowan says. "Chants of 'Free her grandma' and such. And lots of children. It was a very validating day. Definitely worth four hours of my life."
