Above: Here we see West Virginia benefiting from the New Deal's Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation (FSCC) in 1936. We also see the three primary benefits of the FSCC: the removal of surplus produce in order to increase income for farmers (large surpluses depress prices to an unsustainable degree); improved diets (more vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.); and the reduction of waste. The image above is part of a longer newspaper article in The Independent-Herald (Hinton, West Virginia), June 23, 1937, and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Above: In 1938, Maine potatoes were added to the diets of many West Virginians, courtesy of the New Deal's FSCC. Potatoes are packed full of nutrition. See, e.g., "All About Potatoes," Maine Potato Board. The above image is part of a longer newspaper article in The Independent-Herald (Hinton, West Virginia), May 18, 1938, and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Above: Also in 1938, low-income residents of McDowell County, West Virginia, received Florida oranges. Image from The McDowell Times (Keystone, West Virginia), March 4, 1938, and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Above: This article excerpt shows how surplus purchasing by the New Deal helped West Virginia apple growers. The above image is part of a longer newspaper article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, West Virginia), and newspapers.com, and used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Above: A chart from the fiscal year 1940 report of the FSCC, p. 8 (after it became part of USDA), showing pounds of food distributed, and number of people served, for West Virginia and other states and territories.
Above: This chart, also from the 1940 report, p. 8, shows pounds of food distributed to schools, and the number of schools and children served.
Above: This section of the 1940 report, from p. 2, gives some more information, e.g., volume and operation details, about the FSCC's contribution towards school lunches across the United States.
Above: This is from the FSCC's fiscal year 1936 report, p. 16, showing types of surplus foods distributed to West Virginians in need of assistance.
Trump's USDA is cutting off food assistance for West Virginia
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel is reporting that "The USDA recently announced $1 billion in cuts to two programs that enable schools and food banks to buy products from local farmers. One is the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) for states to buy local agricultural products to serve feeding programs, including food banks and organizations that reach underserved communities." ("USDA program cuts affect West Virginia farmers," March 19, 2025).
Trump's USDA told West Virginia farmers, and other American farmers, that the program "no longer effectuates agency priorities and that termination of the award is appropriate." ("How recent USDA cuts will affect West Virginia farmers," WBOY-TV News, March 13, 2025).
A West Virginia farmer responded to the cuts by saying, "DOGE was put in place to cut federal waste dollars. We don’t believe that the access to local, healthier food to kids or those facing hunger falls into that category. Anybody that does: This is morally wrong on many levels."
What the farmer may or may not realize is that, to the billionaire class, any governmental assistance to low-income Americans is wasteful. And since our federal government is now run by billionaires and billionaire donors, well, bye bye USDA funding. Billionaires prefer tax cuts. Tax cuts help purchase mega-yachts, private islands, and luxury doomsday bunkers.
Many right-wingers would respond, of course, by saying: "Once we give more tax cuts to the rich they'll invest more, and then everyone will have a great job with great benefits, and then people won't need government assistance anymore."
This is the same trickle-down myth that has misled America for half-a-century. And the falsity of trickle-down economics is highlighted by the simple fact that economic desperation continues (indeed, is worse) for tens of millions of Americans, even after the gargantuan, dynastic, and supposedly utopia-creating tax cuts of Reagan, Bush Jr., and Trump.
Many working-class Americans don't seem to understand that investors don't give a crap about the robustness of working-class jobs. They'd just as soon send those jobs overseas, or engage in stock buybacks, or increase executive compensations packages, or simply fill their mansions with ever-increasing dividends. So why are we voting for politicians who want to give these people even more tax cuts? Additionally, the idea that the 1% don't already have enough money to invest to their heart's delight is ludicrous.
Obeisance to the rich = economic turmoil and unhealthy diets for the working-class. The New Deal did better for West Virginia... and the rest of America. Let's do another New Deal.
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