WHEN the food stamp program took its first experimental step in McDowell County, the Nation watched to see if this Federal-State-local effort could effectively help lowincome families share America's food abundance.
Today, with the enthusiasm and cooperation of State officials, welfare people, business interests, and the entire community of McDowell County, the food stamp program is helping well over 1 million people in some 300 areas throughout the country.
Note: The President's statement was made public as part of a White House release commemorating the inauguration of the Department of Agriculture's food stamp program on May 29, 1961, in McDowell County, W. Va.
Citing a report to the President from Secretary Freeman, the release pointed out that average gains of 8 percent in retail food sales follow introduction of the program into typical areas. This results in increased demand for the produce of local farmers, since "livestock products and fresh fruit and vegetables account for more than 80 percent of the increase in food used."
These figures reflect an improvement in the diet of participating families, the release added. "Needy households . . . buy food coupons with the money they would normally spend for food. They then receive additional coupons free of charge. These additional coupons, the Federal Government's contribution to the program, give the low-income households the added food-buying power they need to meet their nutritional requirements and to participate more fully in our agricultural abundance. The coupons are spent like money in retail food outlets authorized by USDA's Consumer and Marketing Service to accept them. Total coupons issued in March were valued at $17.3 million and bonus coupons issued amounted to $6.4 million" (2 Weekly Comp. Pros. Docs., p. 717).
The release concluded with a list of additional areas in 15 States scheduled to participate in the program by June 15.
Later releases concerning the expansion of the food stamp program appear in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 2, pp. 1193, 1273, and 1685).
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of the Food Stamp Program. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238909