United States Food Administration

Variant names
Detailed View Revision History Sources

Hide Profile

American food regulatory agency.

From the description of Food Administration records, 1917-1919. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754866949

Organized in 1917; managed civilian food production, distribution, conservation and pricing during World War I; using both volunteers and a paid staff, accomplished its work in New Jersey through an enforcement division, through committees representing different food trades, through county-level food administrators and through publicity efforts and educational campaigns aimed at the general public.

From the description of History of the United States Food Administration in New Jersey : during the period from March 8, 1918 to December 31, 1918 : mimeograph copy, 1919. (Rutgers University). WorldCat record id: 60864984

Historical Note

"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 U.S. 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

From the guide to the United States. Food Administration records, 1909-1957, (bulk 1917-1919), (Hoover Institution Archives)
Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Gillaspie, Caroline H., 1907-1996. World War I posters, etc. 1916-1920. Boulder Public Library
referencedIn Vernon Lyman Kellogg papers, 1914-1921 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Suda Lorena Bane galley proofs : Organization of American relief in Europe, 1918-1919, 1943. Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Redman, Herbert E., 1896-1979. World War I posters, ca. 1917-1920. The Filson Historical Society
referencedIn R.C. Maxwell Co. R.C. Maxwell Company Records, 1891-2001 and undated. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Illinois State Council of Defense (World War I). Food and Fuel Administration's bulletins, press releases, pamphlets, and photographs, 1917-1919. Illinois State Archive
creatorOf United States Food Administration. Food Administration records, 1917-1919. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Illinois State Council of Defense (World War I). United States Food Administration questionnaires, 1918-1919. Illinois State Archive
referencedIn Boulder (Colo.) pioneers certificates, 1868-1918. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Giles, Howard, 1876-1955. World War I related articles from contemporary magazines / as collected by Matthew J. Bruccoli. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Joseph Stephen Cullinan Collection MSS 69., ca. 1895-1939 Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Libary
referencedIn Frederic Collin Walcott papers, 1850-1948 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn James Ford Bell and family papers., 1861-1978. Minnesota Historical Society
creatorOf United States. Food Administration records, 1909-1957, (bulk 1917-1919) Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Charles A. Platt architectural records and papers, 1879-1981, (bulk 1882-1933) Columbia University. Avery Architecture and Fine Arts Library. Department of Drawings and Archives.
creatorOf Alabama. State Council of Defense (1917-1919). Program administrative files, 1917-1919. Alabama Department of Archives and History
referencedIn Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. United States Food Administration Project records, 1929-1941. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Benjamin Shannon Allen Papers, 1910-1967 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Requa, M. L. (Mark Lawrence), 1865-1937. Mark Lawrence Requa memoirs, undated. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Bane, Suda Lorena, 1886-1952. Organization of American relief in Europe, 1918-1919 : galley proofs, 1943. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
creatorOf Prichard, George W., 1850-1935. Family papers, 1894-1940. University of New Mexico-Main Campus
creatorOf Parloa, Maria, 1843-1909. [Culinary ephemera : war]. Box 340. William L. Clements Library
referencedIn Edward Krehbiel typescript : Report of the United States Food Administration for California, 1919 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn McCormick, Chauncey, 1884-1954. Chauncey McCormick papers, 1917-1954. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Texas War Records Collection Organization. Texas War Records Collection, 1916-1919, 1940-1951 University of Texas Libraries
referencedIn Arnold, Sarah Louise, 1859-1943. Papers, 1894-1954 (bulk 1898-1904). Simmons College, Beatley Library
referencedIn Taylor, Alonzo Englebert, 1871-1949. Alonzo Englebert Taylor papers, 1911-1943. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Spruance, William C. (William Corbit), 1873-1935,. Lea Mills Collection, 1679-1938. Hagley Museum & Library
referencedIn Laidlaw, Harriet Burton, 1873-1949. Papers, 1851-1958 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn George W. Prichard Family Papers, 1894-1940 The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch
referencedIn Merian C. Cooper papers, 1917-1958 Hoover Institution Archives
creatorOf Crispell, Reuben B. Reuben B. Crispell papers, 1918-1919. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn James Hiram Collins writings, 1915-1919 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Surface, Frank M. (Frank Macy), 1882-1965. Frank Macy Surface papers, 1906-1984. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Frank M. Surface Papers, 1915-1933 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Allen, Benjamin Shannon, 1883-1963. Benjamin Shannon Allen papers, 1910-1967. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Horn, Hale. Papers, 1918. Idaho State Archives, Idaho State Historical Society
referencedIn Haines, Wilder H. Papers, 1917-1918. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Laidlaw, H. B. (Harriet Burton), b. 1874. Papers: Series I-IV, 1851-1958 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Everett Somerville Brown papers, 1917-1924 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Alexander Znamiecki typescript : Hoover's aid to Poland, 1954 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Cooper, Merian C. Merian C. Cooper papers, 1917-1958. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Poster collection, ca. 1914-1956. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Texas War Records Collection 93-331; 87-57; 82-115; 82-110; 81-53., 1916-1919, 1940-1951 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Huff, Albert L. Receipt and letter, 1918 August 15. American Periodical Series I
referencedIn Frederic Sylvester Snyder papers, 1896-1919 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Collins, James H. (James Hiram), b. 1873. James Hiram Collins writings, 1915-1919. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Clear Lake rice irrigation : reports, memoranda and clippings pertaining to the controversy between the citizens of Lake County and the Yolo County Rice Growers Association, the Yolo Water and Power Company and the U.S. Food Administration, 1918-1919. Water Resources Collections and Archives
referencedIn Wallace, Henry Cantwell, 1866-1924. Papers, 1904-1930. [microform]. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Jennings, H. S. (Herbert Spencer), 1868-1947. Diaries, 1903-1942. American Philosophical Society Library
referencedIn Alonzo Engelbert Taylor Papers, 1911-1943 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Kincaid, Elbert A. (Elbert Alvis), 1884-1958. Elbert A. Kincaid papers [anuscript], 1915-1954. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn United States Food Administration. Iowa Division. United States Food Administration Iowa Division papers, 1917-1920. Iowa State Historical Society
referencedIn Jones, Howard Palfrey, 1899-1973. Howard Palfrey Jones papers, 1917-1973. University at Albany, University Libraries
referencedIn Standard Oil Company. World War I broadsides, 1918. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn United States Food Administration Project records, 1929-1941 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn R.C. Maxwell Co. Records, 1904-1990s, and n.d. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
creatorOf Ad-Lee Company. Trade catalogs of foods and food processing, 1886-1935. University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB Library
referencedIn Stanford war records, 1917-1945. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Wallace, Henry Cantwell, 1866-1924. Papers, 1904-1930. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Arnold, Sarah Louise, 1859-1943. Sarah Louise Arnold Papers, 1894-1954 1894-1904. Simmons College, Beatley Library
referencedIn Brown, Everett Somerville, 1886-1964. Everett Somerville Brown papers, 1917-1924. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Booth, Franklin, 1874-1948. World War I poster collection [graphic], circa 1918. Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn H. S. (Herbert Spencer) Jennings diaries, 1903-1942, 1903-1942 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn World War posters, 1914-1945 Claremont Colleges.Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library.
creatorOf United States Food Administration. History of the United States Food Administration in New Jersey : during the period from March 8, 1918 to December 31, 1918 : mimeograph copy, 1919. Rutgers University
referencedIn Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933. Charles A. Platt architectural records and papers, 1879-1981 (bulk 1882-1933). Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Krehbiel, Edward. Report of the United States Food Administration for California : typescript, 1919. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn American war posters from the First World War, circa 1914-circa 1919, bulk 1917-1919 Bancroft Library
referencedIn Boyden, Roland William, 1863-1931. Roland William Boyden papers, 1917-1923 (bulk), 1917-1947 (inclusive). Houghton Library
referencedIn Roberts, Lou Ellen Young, 1882-. Papers, 1898-1974, 1917-1921. Texas Tech University Libraries, Academic Library
referencedIn Chauncey McCormick Papers, 1917-1954 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Mrs. J. E. Thane papers, 1911-1936 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Bell, James Ford, 1879-1961. James Ford Bell and family papers, 1861-1961. Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Julia Ideson Collection MSS 32., 1885 to 1944, 1920 to 1930 Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Libary
referencedIn Peden (E. A. ) Papers 1953; 1955., 1917-1921 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn New York State Defense Council. Subject correspondence files, 1917-1918. New York State Archives
referencedIn Peden, Edward Andrew. Peden (E. A.) Papers, 1917-1921 University of Texas Libraries
referencedIn Reuben B. Crispell papers, 1918-1919 Hoover Institution Archives
referencedIn Stanford War records, 1917-1945 Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Thane, J. E., Mrs. Mrs. J. E. Thane papers, 1911-1936. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman), 1867-1937. Vernon Lyman Kellogg papers, 1914-1921. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Snyder, Frederic Sylvester, 1868-1956. Frederic Sylvester Snyder papers, 1896-1919. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Bell, James Ford, 1879-1961. James Ford Bell papers, 1917-1930. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Znamiecki, Alexander. Hoover's aid to Poland : typescript, 1954. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Walcott, Frederic Collin, 1869-1948. Frederic Collin Walcott papers, 1850-1948 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Stafford, James B. Erie County food administration scrapbooks, 1918-1919. Buffalo History Museum, Research Library
creatorOf United States. Committee on Public Information. Papers, 1917-1918. Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center
referencedIn James Ford Bell Papers, 1917-1930 Hoover Institution Archives
Role Title Holding Repository

Filters:

Connection Graph Radial Graph
Relation Name
associatedWith Alabama. State Council of Defense (1917-1919) corporateBody
associatedWith Allen, Benjamin Shannon, 1883-1963. person
associatedWith Allen, Winnie person
associatedWith Arnold, Sarah Louise, 1859-1943. person
associatedWith Bane, Suda Lorena, 1886-1952. person
associatedWith Bell, James Ford, 1879-1961. person
associatedWith Boyden, Roland William, 1863-1931. person
associatedWith Brown, Everett Somerville, 1886-1964. person
associatedWith Collins, James H. (James Hiram), b. 1873. person
associatedWith Cooper, Merian C. person
associatedWith Crispell, Reuben B. person
associatedWith Crispell, Reuben B. person
associatedWith Cullinan, Joseph Stephen person
associatedWith Duniway, C. A. person
associatedWith Gillaspie, Caroline H., 1907-1996. person
associatedWith Haines, Wilder H. person
associatedWith Harriet Wright (Burton) Laidlaw, 1873-1949 person
associatedWith Horn, Hale. person
associatedWith Huff, Albert L. person
associatedWith Ideson, Julia B., 1880-1945 person
associatedWith Illinois State Council of Defense (World War I) corporateBody
associatedWith Illinois State Council of Defense (World War I) corporateBody
associatedWith Jennings, H. S. (Herbert Spencer), 1868-1947. person
associatedWith Jones, Howard Palfrey, 1899-1973. person
associatedWith Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman), 1867-1937. person
associatedWith Kincaid, Elbert A. (Elbert Alvis), 1884-1958. person
associatedWith Krehbiel, Edward. person
associatedWith Krehbiel, Edward. person
associatedWith Laidlaw, H. B. (Harriet Burton), b. 1874. person
associatedWith McCormick, Chauncey, 1884-1954. person
associatedWith McDowell, John E. person
associatedWith New York State Defense Council. corporateBody
associatedWith Peden, Edward Andrew person
associatedWith Peden, Edward Andrew person
associatedWith Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933. person
associatedWith Port Jefferson Historical Society. corporateBody
associatedWith Prichard, George W., 1850-1935. person
associatedWith R.C. Maxwell Co. corporateBody
associatedWith Redman, Herbert E., 1896-1979. person
associatedWith Requa, M. L. (Mark Lawrence), 1865-1937. person
associatedWith Roberts, Lou Ellen Young, 1882- person
associatedWith Snyder, Frederic Sylvester, 1868-1956. person
associatedWith Spruance, William C. (William Corbit), 1873-1935, person
associatedWith Stafford, James B. person
associatedWith Standard Oil Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Surface, Frank M. (Frank Macy), 1882-1965. person
associatedWith Taylor, Alonzo Englebert, 1871-1949. person
associatedWith Texas War Records Collection Organization corporateBody
associatedWith Thane, J. E., Mrs. person
associatedWith Thane, Mrs. J. E. person
associatedWith Tyler, William S. person
associatedWith United States. Committee on Public Information. corporateBody
associatedWith United States Food Administration. Iowa Division. corporateBody
associatedWith Walcott, Frederic Collin, 1869-1948. person
associatedWith Wallace, Henry Cantwell, 1866-1924. person
associatedWith Znamiecki, Alexander person
associatedWith Znamiecki, Alexander. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New Jersey
United States
United States
Newark (N.J.)
Subject
Food conservation
Food supply
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1914-1918
Occupation
Activity
Publishers

Corporate Body

Active 1918

Active 1919

Americans

English

Related Descriptions
Virtual International Authority File WorldCat Identities LC/NACO
Search Elsewhere
ArchiveGrid Search DPLA Search
Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pc6sw8

Ark ID: w6pc6sw8

SNAC ID: 12792636