The USDA website has basic info on the history of food stamps here http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Legislation/about.htm
Janet Poppendieck of Hunter College is one of the nation's top historians of federal anti-hunger policy. Her comprehensive history of the beginnings of federal food programs is "Breadlines Knee Deep in Wheat." Summary from Amazon page: This book provides historical perspective on two of today's important public issues: farm income and hunger. It analyzes the origins of a national food assistance policy during the Thirties, when an attempt to solve the seeming paradox of simultaneous hunger and food surplus drove much of the public debate. Poppendieck demonstrates that food programs came to be seen by an organized farm lobby as a way of alleviating huge farm commodity surpluses. Unraveling the interrelated and complex agricultural and assistance policies, particularly for those unfamiliar with the terminology and bureaucracy, requires a good deal of skill. Poppendieck largely succeeds. The story she tells of good intentions gone bad, however, does not offer much hope for policy solutions to current farm and hunger problems. For informed laypersons, scholars, and specialists. Charles K. Piehl, Director of Grants Management, Mankato State Univ., Minn. Hope this is helpful! ----------------------------- Message: 17 Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:37:24 -0800 From: Eugene Coyle <[email protected]> Subject: [Pen-l] Query re food Stamps To: Pen-l Pen-L <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Food stamps are an income supplement for many. But is the early story that they were intended to supplement agricultural income by adding to demand for food? Can you point me to a source for the early history of food stamps? Gene Coyle -- Nicole Woo Director of Domestic Policy Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) 202.293.5380 x108 woo @ cepr.net www.cepr.net _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
