What did the strangers feed Mya and Bailey on train as they traveled from California to Arkansas?

As they traveled from California to Arkansas, the strangers fed Maya and Bailey with cold fried chicken and potato salad.

Below is an excerpt:

"Negro passengers, who always traveled with full lunch boxes, felt sorry for "the poor little motherless darlings" and gave us lots of cold fried chicken and potato salad."

Explanation:

The strangers on the train were Negro passengers who usually traveled with their lunch boxes. So, on sighting the poor children, they gave them lots of cold fried chicken and potato salad.

Maya was three years and Bailey, her brother was four when they embarked on the journey to Arkansas. This was the time their parents divorced and sent them to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. It was on their journey to Arkansas that the Negro passengers fed them.

"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" is one of the five autobiographies of Maya Angelou. She is an African-American author who wrote extensively about her childhood and the turbulent events she experienced while growing up.