New York State Food Supply Commission Scrapbook

The State Food Supply Commission was created by Chapter 813 of the Laws of 1917, which defined state policy in relation to production, supply, and distribution control of "the necessaries of life" to insure adequate supplies at reasonable prices and to prevent speculation and hoarding during wartime. "Necessaries" meant food, feeds, seeds, fuel (including oil and fertilizers) and the tools, machinery, and equipment required to produce them. In emergencies, ice was also included. The commission assumed powers and duties conferred by Chapters 205 and 506 of the Laws of 1917. It could settle disputes; license the manufacture, storage, or distribution of any necessary; regulate hotels and restaurants, and the purchase and sale of food or fuel by municipalities; compel common carriers to give preference to the transport of necessaries; and apply for an injunction to restrain any practice detrimental to the public interest.

Clippings and correspondence in this scrapbook relate broadly to operations of the Food Commission statewide. Newspaper clippings pertain to local relations with the state; farm bureau labor rallies; disposition of poultry stock and eggs; labor shortages and state aid proposals; plans to "conscript" boys and girls in farm labor; personnel changes and appointments to the commission and agriculture departments; publishing prices to prevent profiteering; publicity reports of events and programs, such as formation of "tractor schools"; and conservation efforts, such as the push to use more milk as a substitute for meat and other foods.

Topics of circulars and correspondence include organization of and visits to local committee subsidiaries; expense renderings; needs and plans to provide farm work employment; and reports of local events and demonstrations (such as the use of farm tractors to increase production, planting of home "war gardens", establishment of boys and girls "pig clubs", and work of the New York State Boys' Working Reserve).

Selected items from this scrapbook have been digitized and are available in State Archives Digital Collections.

A4242Series A4242, Administrative and Correspondence Files [Council of Defense], contains reports of the Food Supply Commission.

The scrapbook pages often contained multiple articles affixed to one page or inserted between pages or between the front and back covers. Scrapbook pages where placed in new folders in the order they appeared in the scrapbook. Eleven oversize articles found folded and placed between the last page and back cover are now housed separately.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.