Reply #90: In Indiana, in 1970, my best friend's father ran the county's low-income

[SoCalDem]

food distribution center. Every month, they gave out boxes of food, and sometimes my friend and I would go there to help him & the staff prepare the boxes. Each family got:

a LARGE box of Carnation powdered milk
a 10# bag of rice
a 10# bag of flour
a 10# bag of sugar
a large can of Crisco
3 or 4 bags of red beans, white beans, split peas, chickpeas, etc
canned tuna, salmon & mackerel
a case of assorted canned vegetables & fruits
2 large jars of peanut butter
a large box of saltine crackers
2 or 3 large packages of pasta (spaghetti & macaroni)
a bag of cornmeal
a couple of containers of oatmeal


They also got a large box of laundry soap
toothpaste
bar soap & shampoo

People with babies also got a case of baby food and dry cereal.

They also got the ubiquitous government cheese, and eggs & butter. In the summer, he would often get fresh veggies that would be set out on tables in the parking lot.

Even though a lot of these people did not have much in the way of permanent transportation, every month they managed to get their food home. I don't know if food stamps were available in Indiana in 1970, but the food given away is very much like what WIC gives out now