New Deal Surplus in San Francisco

Above: This photo was taken in San Francisco, April 8, 1935. The caption for it reads, "Surplus Commodity Distribution. Food inspector examining grapefruit which is being received at the Surplus Commodity Distribution Center, 1563 Mission Street, for distribution to the unemployed." Interestingly, 1563 Mission Street is now the address for healthRIGHT360's Integrated Care Center, which "provides an innovative healthcare model to serve all San Franciscans, but [is] primarily designed to treat low-income patients, and the harder-to-reach homeless individual" (link). Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: Another San Francisco photo, taken December 27, 1934. The caption reads, "Surplus Commodity Warehouse. Commissary for surplus commodities, manned by crews of transient men." Transient men were essentially homeless, wandering around the nation looking for scarce jobs. Eventually, industry began to recover during the New Deal, and the WPA was created and employed millions, and the transient crisis began to ease. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Food and goods for Californians in need

In 1933, as part of the New Deal, the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation was created; its mission was to distribute essential food and goods to struggling Americans. It was eventually re-named the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation (FSCC; see the Living New Deal's program summary here). 

In 1936, the FSCC distributed to struggling Americans in California: 60 tons of canned beef; 2,600 tons of fresh apples; 300 tons of dried figs; 16 tons of English walnuts; and much, MUCH more (from the FSCC's 1936 annual report).

The FSCC was also beneficial to farmers of course, who were harvesting more product than what many Americans could buy. For example, in 1936 the FSCC purchased 3 million pounds (or 1,500 tons) of dried peaches from California farmers for distribution to the poor nationwide.

In San Francisco, the FSCC had its headquarters at 112 Market Street ("Government Buying Dried Lima Beans," The Californian (Salinas, California), December 9, 1937). In 1941, it was reported that "[A] notice issued by Merritt A. Clevenger, the Supervising Purchasing Agent, whose office is located in San Francisco, stated that the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation invites growers and Associations of growers, or their authorized agents, to submit offers to sell 1941 crop natural condition dried prunes to the F.S.C.C." ("Association Deals for Membership in F.S.C.C. Sales," The Hanford Sentinel (Hanford, California), September 19, 1941).

Today, as food banks are running dry--due to the increased demand created by the coronavirus pandemic--it would be good for us to remember the various New Deal efforts to feed the poor and the unemployed, like the F.S.C.C.

(Another New Deal initiative, the "Food Stamp Plan," which has evolved over time into today's SNAP program, is already proving vital in the nation's response to our coronavirus-fueled economic downturn.)