1964

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Abstract
As the nation prepares to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the Food Stamp Act of 1964 on August 31, 2024, this essay reframes the “iron triangle” of agricultural policy that generated the Food Stamp Program, known today as the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Since 1964, public discourses about food stamps focus mainly on the legislation and those who carry it out or those who receive federal food assistance. But what about grocery store owners and retailers? Drawing on research from my book Food Power Politics, the essay takes up this question and analyzes a largely unknown March 1964 phone conversation about food stamp legislation between President Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator James O. Eastland of Mississippi. This conversation compels us to consider how racial dynamics and political motivations shaped congressional support of food stamps and look beyond the farm gate when thinking about agricultural and food legislation.

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