How did the Food Stamp Program work?

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The Hunger Museum Tour We Can Solve Hunger — The Proof is in Our History

Back Door Exclusions

We also saw some back door exclusions built into New Deal programs. The pilot food stamp program in the New Deal required a buy-in. People who qualified for the program would purchase orange stamps, which could be redeemed for any food. For every $1 of orange stamps purchased, that person would receive 50 cents worth of blue stamps, which could be used to purchase agricultural surplus foods.

But if a person didn’t have even a small amount of economic stability to buy into the system, they couldn’t access the program even if they qualified. And state and local governments were legally allowed to impose additional restrictions on eligibility for the program, including outright discrimination based on race.

At its peak, this earliest food stamps program served 4 million Americans – but had it been extended to all low-income families without these additional exclusions, it could have reached up to 25 million poeple.

Where is it located in the Museum?

The Food Stamp Program

“Orange and blue food stamps from 1939.” U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designed two types of discounted “stamps” that could be exchanged for food: blue stamps to be exchanged for surplus staples such as butter, eggs, grain, produce, and meat, and orange stamps to be exchanged for any foods of the same monetary value. Program participants were required to purchase orange stamps, and then received half as many blue stamps for free. The surplus goods eligible for purchase shifted depending on which sectors were in need of support. Grocers would then submit the stamps to USDA — or later participating banks — for reimbursement.

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