Dr. Jean Mayer and the White House Conference
In 1969, President Richard Nixon publicly promised “to end hunger in America,” appointing nutrition scientist Dr. Jean Mayer to convene a White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health. The conference resulted in a dramatic transformation of the social safety net, expanding funding for the Food Stamp Program. It also led to important reforms by Congress, stripping state and local officials of their powers to set and enforce eligibility standards, lowering the amount of cash required to buy food stamps, allowing for free food stamps to particularly vulnerable households, and extending the program to Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Where is it located in the Museum?
Museum Map
LOBBY
THE
WISHING
TREE
WISHING
TREE
THE SNAP CAFÉ
AUDITORIUM
TERRACE RESTAURANT
The Hunger Museum
We Can Solve Hunger —
The Proof is in Our History
The Proof is in Our History
- 1.Welcome
- 2.The Age of Mass Migration - Landing
- 3.The Age of Mass Migration - Main
- 4.Jewish Immigration from Eastern Europe
- 5.Immigration from Europe
- 6.On the Breadline
- 7.Beginnings
- 8.What was the rationale behind the Food Stamp Program?
- 9.Farm Family Portraits
- 10.An Unequal Recovery
- 11.Lunch Counter Student Sit-Ins (Greensboro, NC)
- 12.Televising the War on Hunger - Landing
- 13.Televising the War on Hunger - Main
- 14.CBS’s “Hunger in America”
- 15.President Lyndon B. Johnson
- 16.Senator George McGovern and Senator Robert Dole
- 17.Dr. Jean Mayer and the White House Conference
- 18.Poor People’s Campaign (Springfield, IL)
- 19.Hunger & Charity in the Age of Austerity - Landing
- 20.Hunger & Charity in the Age of Austerity - Main
- 21.Government Cheese
- 22.The Return of the Welfare Queen
- 23.Welfare Reform
- 24.Crises of New Proportions - Landing
- 25.Crises of New Proportions - Main
- 26.COVID-19
- 27.Stories of a Broken Safety Net - Landing
- 28.Stories of a Broken Safety Net - Main
- 29.Wishing Tree
- 30.End tour
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger