Federal Surplus Relief Corporation
| Federal Surplus Relief Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | Charter granted by State of Delaware, October 3, 1935 |
| Superseding agency | Consolidated with Division of Marketing and Marketing Agreements into Surplus Marketing Administration, June 30, 1940; Merged into Agricultural Marketing Administration, February 23, 1942 |
| Parent department | United States Department of Agriculture |
| Parent Agency | Farm Credit Administration, Agricultural Adjustment Administration |
The Federal Surplus Relief Corporation was one of the so-called alphabet agencies set up in the U.S. as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal.
The Corporation itself was merged into other government departments during World War II. As of 2012, the Federal purchase and distribution of surplus food still continues, now under the auspices of the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
History
In the summer of 1933, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration attempted to boost the wholesale price of agricultural produce through an artificial scarcity initiative, whereby crops were ploughed up or left to rot, and six million pigs were killed and discarded.[1] The public outcry over this waste of resources led to the establishment of the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation in October 1933, which aimed to divert commodities such as apples, beans, canned beef and cotton to local relief organizations.[2] In December 1933, the Corporation distributed 3,000,000 tons of coal to the unemployed of Wisconsin,[3] and in September 1934 shipped 692,228,274 pounds of foodstuffs to the unemployed in thirty US states.[4]
On November 18, 1935, it changed its name to the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation, and placed on its board of directors the Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace, the head of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration.[5]
The Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation was continued as an agency under Secretary of Agriculture by acts of June 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 323) and February 16, 1938 (52 Stat. 38). The agency was consolidated with Division of Marketing and Marketing Agreements into Surplus Marketing Administration by Reorg. Plan No. III of 1940, then merged into Agricultural Marketing Administration by Executive Order 9069 of February 23, 1942.
After World War II, the Federal purchase and distribution of food services continued. In the 1960s, counties began to cease distributing the surpluses direct to low income individuals, instead providing an early form of food stamp.[6] Since 1990, the main program responsible for the distribution of surpluses has been the Emergency Food Assistance and Soup Kitchen-Food Bank Program . In the 1980s, the program was called the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program. It is now often referred to as the Emergency Food Assistance Program and is administrated by the USDA. As of 2012, surpluses are still distributed, though to food banks and other emergency food agencies, not directly to individuals.[7]
References
- ^ Ronald L. Heinemann, Depression and New Deal in Virginia. (1983) p. 107
- ^ "Timeline . Surviving the Dust Bowl . American Experience . WGBH". Retrieved 2012-03-02. Text " PBS " ignored (help)
- ^ "Coal Ordered for Needy". NY Times. Retrieved 2012-03-02. (subscription required)
- ^ "Relief Foods Total 692,228,274 Pounds". NY Times. Retrieved 2012-03-02. (subscription required)
- ^ Betters, Paul; Williams, J. Kerwin; Reeder, Sherwood (1936). Cities and the 1936 Congress. Ayer Publishing. pp. 85-86. ISBN 0405104782.
- ^ Janet Poppendieck (1999). "Introduction, Chpt 1". Sweet Charity?: Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement. Penguine. ISBN 0140245561.
- ^ Marisol Bello, USA TODAY (2012-09-09). "Food banks run short as federal government hands out less". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2012-09-10. Text "newswell" ignored (help); Text "text" ignored (help); Text "FRONTPAGE" ignored (help); Text "p " ignored (help)
