$4,000,000,000
In Public Relief

In this 1934 article by Ruth Steward an effort was made to inform the readers as to just what was provided to those who signed up for public relief programs:

“Once a week paterfamilias rouses himself to go down to the commissary and bring home the bacon. Bacon, yes, and all the food he can carry: meat, vegetables, canned goods, fruits, pickles, flour, coffee, cocoa…Persons on relief are also, depending on circumstances, furnished with shoes and clothing paid for by the county at a scale of standard prices and specifications as agreed upon by the local merchants.”

Some public relief programs created jobs for the benefit subscribers…