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United States Food Administration records
XX066
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Title: United States Food Administration records
Date (bulk): 1917-1919
Collection Number: XX066
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
420 manuscript boxes, 34 oversize boxes, 25 card files boxes, 5 envelopes
(223.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, reports, memoranda, minutes, press releases, surveys, statistics, printed matter, and photographs relating
to the regulation of food distribution and consumption in the United States during World War I.
Creator:
United States Food Administration
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Closed. Microfilm use only. Materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or
digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
[Identification of item], United States Food Administration records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library
& Archives.
"Food Will Win the War" was the slogan. Food had become a weapon in World War I, as European countries could no longer produce
sufficient food for their populations. Since the U.S. had to provide food to its armies and the Allied armies, Allied civilians,
and Americans at home, President Woodrow Wilson established the United States Food Administration (USFA) as an independent
agency by Executive Order 2679-A of August 10, 1917 under the authority of the Food and Fuel Control Act (40 Stat. 276).
The USFA regulated the supply, distribution, and conservation of food. President Woodrow Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover to
the post of U.S. Food Administrator, making the following statement: "In order to meet [the] shortage, every encouragement
and direction possible was given to increased production." In addition, the conservation of food already produced was approached
through the elimination of wasteful practices and unnecessary consumption. Herbert Hoover created his "Food Conservation"
program, which Americans called "Hooverizing." According to the program, American households would eat less in order to leave
food to ship abroad. Thus Herbert Hoover succeeded in cutting domestic consumption of food that was needed overseas and avoided
rationing at home.
The USFA ended wartime food controls immediately after the Armistice on November 11, 1918. USFA conservation regulations lapsed
in November-December 1918. Licensing requirements terminated in June 1919. The remaining functions of the Food Administrator
were transferred to the Chief of the Cereal Division, USFA (wheat and wheat products) and to the U.S. Attorney General (all
other food products). The USFA was finally disbanded on August 21, 1920.
Although the activities of the USFA were terminated at the war's end, its accomplishments laid the foundation for Allied post-war
relief efforts in Europe.
Sources:
History of the United States Food Administration, 1917-1919, by William C. Mullendore, with an Introduction by Herbert Hoover, 1941, Stanford University Press, Stanford University,
California. National Archives and Records Administration; Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum,
http://hoover.archives.gov
For additional historical information, see: George H. Nash,
The Life of Herbert Hoover, Vol. 3, Master of Emergencies, 1917-1918. W. W. Norton, 1983
Scope and Content of Collection
The records relate to the regulation of food distribution and consumption in the United States and Allied areas during World
War I, and include correspondence, reports, memoranda, minutes, press releases, surveys, statistics, printed matter, and photographs.
Documenting the establishment and organization of the USFA and its subsidiary agencies, the records include rules and regulations,
policies, plans, and operational agreements with producers, refiners, manufacturers, and purchasers of various commodities.
The records are organized into 70 series by division, subject, personal office or physical form. Series 1-48H use division
office codes designated by the USFA. Additional series have been created for later additions to the records.
Division records often include correspondence, predominantly outgoing, and chronologically arranged internal documents such
as agenda, minutes and memoranda, governing documents, and periodical reports of activities, as well as financial records
and issuances of the organization and its officials. Personal offices contain similar records, along with incoming correspondence,
and often reflect the daily operations of an office within the organization.
The Alphabetical file, in three overlapping segments, lists subjects, terms, and names alphabetically. Files generally consist
of reports, memos, minutes, correspondence, and regulations, from all divisions of the organization in alphabetical order
by subject or country. Heavily indexed by the organization, the alphabetical file also includes cross-references to related
files in the series and to the other numbered series.
Information on the public outreach program and the development of nationwide food conservation programs may be found in the
Library and Exhibits Section records. The section created various visual aids and suggestions on how to organize exhibits
and fairs related to food conservation at public places.
USFA records are also held in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and at the U.S. National Archives. Though they partially
duplicate the records held at the Hoover Institution, the records include complementary materials, often about particular
regions throughout the country.
Herbert Hoover subject collection, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Poster collection, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Everett Somerville Brown papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Vernon Lyman Kellogg papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Alonzo Englebert Taylor papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Frank Macy Surface papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Mark Lawrence Requa memoirs, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Records of the U.S. Food Administration [USFA], Record Group 4, National Archives and Records Administration
Herbert Hoover Papers, Pre-Commerce Period, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, West Branch, Iowa
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918 -- Food supply
World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects