Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-23
NATIONWIDE
FOOD SURVEY
TOBE MADE
Department of Agriculture to
Estimate Country's Supply
of EdibleS

Washington, D. c., Aug. 2S.-The
government is to take stock of the
nations food supply. In order that
the President, Congress and the 9TH
er officials of the government may be
able to base needed action on a
knowledge of what the national
larder contains, and how it meas
ures I'D TO the needs of the millions
of breakfast, dinner and supper
tables of the nation, the United
States Department OF Agriculture
will begin imme mediately to make
quick survey of available foods and
feeds throughout the country. This
will cover supplies on the farms, in
factories and commercial stores and
warehouses, in retail shops, and on
the shelves and ia the bins of the
family pantry. Snc work Will be car
ried on r rdacfpally by the Bureau of
Markets, the Bureau of Crop Esti-
mates, the Bureau of Chemistry and
States Relations Service of the de-
partment, with funds appropriated
lot lllG pulpOSS III IliC lSSNhNiJ VII
acted food production bill.
The survey is to be made as of the
date, August 81, and 1t is expected
that statistics on the amounts OF
certain important products can be
supplied within three or four weeks
after the food survey is begun.
Inventories and Estimates
In carrying out the NATIONWIDE
food survey, both actual inventories
AZ will ha a01nl0Np6. ES-
Inmates of the food and feed prod
ucts on farms will be made for the
whole country by the Bureau of
Crop Estimates through $4,000
picked co-operators in the field.
Information regarding stocks in
wholesale, jobbing, storing, manu-
featuring and other commercial es-
tablishments, including large retail
houses, will be obtained by request
ing from each concern a statement
of the exact amount of each of the
various products held by it. Com
prehensive lists of such establish
ments compiled by the Bureau of
Markets within the last few years
will be employed in this work.
The stocks on hand in small retail
shops will be estimated from infor-
nation gained from a detailed sur,
vey of stocks in a number of repre-
sentative districts. Stocks in the
hands of all the consumers of the
country will be estimated similarly
from canvasses of a large number of
representative families, both in the
country and in the cities. The study
of families will be concerned even
more with the current consumption
per month than with the actual
stock of food supplies on hand. Small
reail stocks will be reported for
representative cities by the Bureau
of Chemistry through its food and
drug inspectors and State and local
health officials and inspectors, and
for representative country districts
by the States Relations Service
through county agents and local
farm bureaus and other local agen-
cies. Through these agencies certain
selected districts will be canvassed
and an estimate will then be made
for the entire country.
Products to Be Surveyed
The nearly 100 items on which sta
tistiCs are to be gathered include
grains and seeds, grain-food prod
ucts, dried fruits and nuts, Vege-
table fats, sugar sirups, starch, meat
and meat products, food products
preserved in tin and other contain
ers, dairy and related products fish
and feeds.
The departments plans contem-
plate making Immediately a quick
survey of the holding of approXi-
mately eighteen of the more import
ant products, following this with
monthly reports on such products
and making a more complete survey
after the crops have been gathered.
1t is proposed 20 utilize in so far as
possible existing established agencies
within the department In the con-
duct of the survey, but the depart
ment, of course. desires the hearty
cooperation and support of all State
local a