13. CCC workers gained an average of 12 pounds during their stay at the camps
At the time the CCC camps were started, the United States Army spent forty-five cents per day per man feeding its troops (about $8.50 in 2018). The average for sustenance spent by the CCC was $1.50 per day beginning in 1933. Breakfast in the CCC camps varied by location and the availability of local produce, but oatmeal was a staple, as were eggs and bacon, potatoes and hominy, fresh bread, coffee and milk, and fruits in season. Lunch was equally hearty while in the camps, though sometimes those at more remote worksites relied on the same canned rations distributed to the army, supplemented with canteens of water. To atone for the often unpalatable c-ration lunch, dinner was expanded.
Throughout its existence, the CCC enrolled men who were suffering from want and the shortages caused by the lack of money during the Great Depression. Approximately 70% of the enrollees entered the CCC showing the effects of malnourishment, and underweight. The physical labor performed outdoors and the quality of the food provided improved their health and physical fitness at the same time that it provided lasting benefits to the nation. Nearly all of the men gained weight, but not to the level of it becoming a danger to their health. The camp newspaper Happy Days, from a CCC camp in North Carolina, extolled, “This is a training station; we’re going to leave morally and physically fit…”