Although created purely as a war-emergency
measure, it is now believed that, even had not
the war come home to us directly, food control
in some form would have been called for by the
people, for food conditions had reached a climax
where some action for the welfare of the country
was urgently required. If this is so, shall we not
hope then that some sane form of food adminis-
tration may become a permanent factor in our
government? Whether for war or for peace,
however, with every aim, phase, and division
of our present or any similar government food
organization in Washington, every kitchen in
every state in the United States is definitely and in-
timately connected. The vibrations of every daily
food need or demand of the people are recorded
in the office of the Food Administration, and it is
the housekeeper, better than any one else, who,
^ "Food Armies of Liberty," Herbert Hoover, National
Geographic Magazine, September, 19 17.
14 FOOD AND FREEDOM
in the understanding and ability with which she
regulates her home, can wisely control and rightly
direct these food needs and wants. Just to the
extent that she plans her meals, buys her food,
cooks, serves, and saves intelligently or not does
she register as a helper or a drag in the work of
strengthening the food situation of the country.
Twenty-two million homes, twenty-two million
housekeepers, organized and understanding, are
a power that must be reckoned with. The na-
tional food problem cannot be separated from
the home food problem, and just to the extent
that the food problem is placed on a sounder
footing in the homes in the United States will
the United States and the other nations of the
world benefit accordingly.
Then the question comes, What definite steps
can the housekeepers of America take in order to
help in this new and important work of food ad-
ministration ? How shall each individual house-
keeper prepare herself to meet the burdens now
so insistently pressed upon her, and through that
preparation count as an active force in bettering
food conditions the world over? In partial an-
swer, the following simmiary suggests itself:
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Help to Produce More Food:
By recognizing tlie rights of the farmer to a
just profit and a free market.
WHAT YOU CAN DO 15
By cultivating and planting and cherishing
every available acre, lot, garden spot, or yard
to help feed your family, for the present, at
least.
By using the foods urged by the government;
by sparing the foods we are asked to spare.
2. Help to Regulate Food Distribution;
By assisting the Food Administration and
the United States Department of Agriculture
at Washington, through your home state and
town to keep the country's food-supply in-
ventoried. How much available food is on
hand, where it is, to whom it belongs, how
it may best be marketed, what the crop and
other food prospects are in different localities,
or what special food difficulties may prevail,
are matters that concern us all.
By fighting all wrong food control or other
unwise or unfair handling or manipulations
that may artificially cut off the supply and
increase prices.
3. Help to Conserve Food:
Food and freedom
1918Page 8
Presented as published in 1918. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
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Although created purely as a war-emergency
measure, it is now believed that, even had not
the war come home to us directly, food control
in some form would have been called for by the
people, for food conditions had reached a climax
where some action for the welfare of the country
was urgently required. If this is so, shall we not
hope then that some sane form of food adminis-
tration may become a permanent factor in our
government? Whether for war or for peace,
however, with every aim, phase, and division
of our present or any similar government food
organization in Washington, every kitchen in
every state in the United States is definitely and in-
timately connected. The vibrations of every daily
food need or demand of the people are recorded
in the office of the Food Administration, and it is
the housekeeper, better than any one else, who,
^ "Food Armies of Liberty," Herbert Hoover, National
Geographic Magazine, September, 19 17.
14 FOOD AND FREEDOM
in the understanding and ability with which she
regulates her home, can wisely control and rightly
direct these food needs and wants. Just to the
extent that she plans her meals, buys her food,
cooks, serves, and saves intelligently or not does
she register as a helper or a drag in the work of
strengthening the food situation of the country.
Twenty-two million homes, twenty-two million
housekeepers, organized and understanding, are
a power that must be reckoned with. The na-
tional food problem cannot be separated from
the home food problem, and just to the extent
that the food problem is placed on a sounder
footing in the homes in the United States will
the United States and the other nations of the
world benefit accordingly.
Then the question comes, What definite steps
can the housekeepers of America take in order to
help in this new and important work of food ad-
ministration ? How shall each individual house-
keeper prepare herself to meet the burdens now
so insistently pressed upon her, and through that
preparation count as an active force in bettering
food conditions the world over? In partial an-
swer, the following simmiary suggests itself:
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Help to Produce More Food:
By recognizing tlie rights of the farmer to a
just profit and a free market.
WHAT YOU CAN DO 15
By cultivating and planting and cherishing
every available acre, lot, garden spot, or yard
to help feed your family, for the present, at
least.
By using the foods urged by the government;
by sparing the foods we are asked to spare.
2. Help to Regulate Food Distribution;
By assisting the Food Administration and
the United States Department of Agriculture
at Washington, through your home state and
town to keep the country's food-supply in-
ventoried. How much available food is on
hand, where it is, to whom it belongs, how
it may best be marketed, what the crop and
other food prospects are in different localities,
or what special food difficulties may prevail,
are matters that concern us all.
By fighting all wrong food control or other
unwise or unfair handling or manipulations
that may artificially cut off the supply and
increase prices.
3. Help to Conserve Food: