The caption on the back reads "G.E. Mackinnon (left), in charge of the West Oakland commissary of the Southern Pacific, checks with Joseph Jackson, of 979 37th Street, before sending a cauldron of soup stock aboard a diner. Mackinnon's job is to get the diners stocked with plenty of food before they start out for their various destinations. His is a constant headache." The hand-written message on the back of the photo indicates "Comissary #1". The photo itself is of an African-American cook checking on soup in a cauldron. There is a white man leaning, almost pressing, over his shoulder investigating the soup as well. This man definitely looks like a headache.