Surplus and Scarcity: Hunger and the Origins of the Food Stamp Program

Abstract

Hunger in the United States was largely ignored prior to the 1960s, when social conditions combined to make it a national issue. This paper looks at the history of the food stamp program and the ongoing competition between two definitions of hunger: one which focuses on the need for food, the other which emphasizes social inequality. We show how the food stamp program has evolved in response to legislative activity and social movements, and how changes in the food stamp program have in turn shaped the debate about hunger. We conclude that the food stamp program in the United States has provided only a partial solution to the problem of hunger, and has diverted attention from societal relationships that produce hunger.