Giant Food Line in Vermont? Great Depression or Burritos?

A huge line formed in downtown Burlington, Vermont today, full of starving people waiting for a free food handout.

Actually, most of them probably weren't starving. Or destitute.

A long line of people wait for free burritos
Wednesday in downtown Burlington, Vermont

Boloco, a burrito restaurant with stores in Boston, Hanover, N.H. and Burlington, was giving away free burritos to mark its 15th anniversary.

Boloco definitely makes tasty burritos, but would you wait in a line as long as that in the photo I took, just for a burrito? Personally, I begged off. As poor as I am, I'd rather not wait in line and instead pay for a burrito when Boloco isn't particularly busy.

There were similar scenes in Burlington yesterday, when Ben & Jerry's was giving away free ice cream cones.

I wonder: Has everyone internalized the lousy economy so deeply that they'd wait in line for hours for free food?  True, the restaurant was also soliciting donations for charity, so that might have motivated some people in line.

I'm sure most of the people in line today had time to kill because they didn't have to be at work around noontime, when the photo was taken. On the other hand, time is money. Had I waited in line for a free burrito, how much money could I have theoretically lost, by waiting in line instead of actually working?