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Who administered the original food stamp program
Executive summary
The original federal food‑stamp plan was created in 1939 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, credited to Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace; the program’s early administration was handled by USDA agencies such as the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation (and successive surplus/marketing offices) and involved named administrators like Milo Perkins in later iterations [1] [2] [3]. Sources note the 1939 pilot (first recipient May 16, 1939) and that the program later reappeared in pilot form in the 1960s before becoming permanent in the Food Stamp Act of 1964 [4] [5].
1. Origins: Roosevelt, Wallace and a 1939 pilot
The very first food‑stamp plan began as a Depression‑era pilot in 1939 implemented by the Roosevelt administration with Henry A. Wallace, then Secretary of Agriculture, credited with creating the Food Stamp Plan; records show the first stamp was used May 16, 1939, in Rochester, New York [1] [4]. Contemporary descriptions emphasize two aims: feed the hungry and move surplus farm commodities into retail channels, linking farm policy with relief efforts [2] [6].
2. Which office "administered" the original plan? Federal surplus agencies, not a single new program office
Reporting identifies the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation as the initial administrator of the food‑stamp plan; the program was then overseen by successor USDA offices such as the Surplus Marketing Administration, Agricultural Marketing Administration and the Food Distribution Administration rather than a separate federal “Food Stamp” agency [2]. That administrative lineage reflects the program’s origin as a surplus‑management tool inside USDA [6].
3. People often named as founders or first administrators
Historical summaries credit Henry Wallace with creating the plan [1] [7]. Sources also cite Milo Perkins as the “first administrator” of later versions of the Food Stamp Program and name Isabelle Kelley as the director of the early 1960s redesign/pilot program [3] [5]. Note: “first administrator” can refer to different incarnations — Perkins is tied to early program leadership, while Kelley is tied to the 1960s pilot design [3] [5].
4. Two distinct eras: 1939–1943 pilot and the 1960s‑permanent program
The 1939–1943 program was an administratively created pilot that ended when surpluses and Depression conditions eased; that pilot had low administrative overhead and targeted surplus distribution [8]. Separate from that early pilot, Congress and successive presidents reintroduced food stamp pilots in the early 1960s (President Kennedy’s 1961 executive order) and then created permanent statutory authority with the Food Stamp Act of 1964 under Lyndon Johnson [4] [5] [9].
5. How reporting uses titles can cause confusion
Sources sometimes conflate the “creator,” the “administrator,” and the agency that ran later federal pilots. For example, Wallace is called the creator of the 1939 plan while the Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation is described as the program’s first administrator [1] [2]. Milo Perkins is named as an early program administrator by some accounts, but that title can apply to later program phases rather than strictly the 1939 pilot [3].
6. Political and practical motives behind the original administration
Contemporaneous and scholarly sources emphasize that the USDA‑run program served dual agendas: feeding impoverished households and helping farmers by moving unmarketable surpluses into the retail market [6] [2]. That dual purpose shaped why surplus‑management offices within USDA, rather than a social‑welfare department, ran the early program [2].
7. What available sources do not mention
Available sources do not mention a single, independent federal “Food Stamp Administration” existing in 1939 distinct from USDA surplus agencies; instead they show USDA surplus offices as the administrators [2]. If you are asking about a specific named individual as the very first on‑the‑ground administrator in 1939 beyond organizational attribution, the reviewed sources do not supply a single definitive personal name tied exclusively to that 1939 administrative role [2] [1].
8. Takeaway for researchers and readers
If you need a concise factual line: the first food‑stamp pilot was created in 1939 under FDR and Henry A. Wallace at USDA, and it was administered by USDA surplus/marketing agencies (Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation and successors); later program leadership names (Milo Perkins, Isabelle Kelley) are associated with subsequent or redesigned program phases leading up to the 1960s pilots and the 1964 law [1] [2] [3] [5].