Raised on a corn farm in Iowa, Henry Wallace became a champion of land-owning farmers as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), introducing an array of programs and protections for rural communities. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 created price controls for staple commodities and empowered USDA to purchase surplus goods, which were distributed to welfare offices and local schools. This became the first federal food assistance in this country and the seed of the Food Stamp Program, helping to feed hundreds of thousands of hungry Americans.