This article on the front page of the Greenfield Daily Recorder-Gazette announces a plan for the federal government to buy butter and beef for the poor. The origins of this program lie in the efforts of the New Deal (1933-1939) to raise the prices of farm goods to increase the income of farmers. To accomplish this goal, the New Deal’s Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) encouraged farmers to reduce the production of grain, livestock and other farm products. Fewer products on the market would cause higher prices, it was hoped. In the early fall of 1933, the AAA killed millions of young pigs. The slaughter of livestock while unemployed workers went hungry caused an outcry and led to the creation of the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation (FSRC). Within two years, the FSRC had distributed approximately $265 million worth of farm products to the poor.
Greenfield Daily Recorder-Gazette. “Government Ready to Buy Butter and Beef for Needy.” October 17, 1933. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l08-025/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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