The roman state provided sacks of grains to the common folks at the coliseum and there were businesses that would run it through the mill stone for them. If you ever go to Roman get a good guide for the forum and coliseum you will learn so much more then just wandering around. I found it fascinating
Yup. The Roman bread dole went on for centuries. Also, pork was popular but (as now) was more expensive at certain times of the year. But when the Games were on, it wasn’t a good idea to eat from restaurants near the arenas, because human flesh is, uh, basically indistinguishable from pork, and, uh, well...