WPA poster promoting healthy eating habits. 1936-41.
During the Depression, surplus farm product were redistributed to the needy families and schools for children. In March 1937, there were 3,839 schools receiving commodities for lunch programs serving 342,031 children daily. By the 1941-42 school year, the peak of this Depression era program, 454 million pounds of food valued at over $21 million were provided to schools. For more . .
This poster pre-dates the passage of the National School Lunch Act of 1948, signed by President Harry Truman. The modern National School lunch program is federally a assisted meal program operating in around 95% of public and nonprofit private schools. Nutritionally balanced, low-cost or no-cost lunches were provided to over 30 million children in 2016.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Healthy school lunches are still in the news! What a great resource to help students think about how some issues are around for decades or even centuries.
I plan on using this image in a lesson on the Great Depression. Students can learn about the past using something they already know about – school lunches!