How Food Stamps Really Started

How Food Stamps Really Started

Trista - January 15, 2020

How Food Stamps Really Started
Early examples of food stamp coupons. Getty/Jstor Daily.

32. The Great Depression Gave Food Stamps Life

The Great Depression started in August 1929, a few months before the New York Stock Exchange crashed in October 1929. Of course, people didn’t see this as the start of a great worldwide depression at the time. They felt that the stock market would bounce back, bringing jobs for thousands of unemployed Americans.

However, the hopeful attitude that many Americans had didn’t keep others from believing the worst. Many people talked about the preparations the government needed to take to make sure American citizens received the supplies they needed, especially when it came to food.

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