The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1919-12-24
CITIES TACKLE
FOOD FOO |0!l| PROBLEM ! !!
Variety Of Way, Some Of Them
Unusual, NJ Being
Tried 0ut. i
how one CIV IYlI SELLS FF0llo0l
Hoauston, Tex, Handles Fruits and
Vegetables In compstltion with
Tenants Of IL Municipality.
Owned Market House.

prepared BY the United States Depart.
ment Of A~grtculeure.l
Washington. - That municipalities
are tackling their local food problems
in a variety Of ways, some Of them
unusual, is evidenced by reports re-
ceived by the city marketing division
Of the bureau Of markets, United
States department Of agriculture.
From establishing curb markets. re-
modelling, or building retail market
houses, efforts Of cities have expanded
until some are actually selling food
supplies, while n city Of about 65.-
600 population is operating q farm
and selling produce from. It at retail.
How One City Sells Food.
Houston, Tex, which has q munich
pally owned retail market house. has
taken over three stalls in the build
ing and is handling fruits and vege-
tables in competition with its tenants.
In order to be fair to other retailers
it charges itself with all overhead e1-
penses paid by other dealers, including
rent, and also pays wages higher than
those paid in other stalls. Reports
on ten weeks operation Of the city
managed stalls show that it is possi-
BILE to buy and sell produce in COM
petition with local merchants at both
a direct and indirect saving to con-
sumers. The experiment is to be en-
larged to include food products other
than fruits and vegetables and is said
to be already serving as a stabilizing
influence on prices In that city mar.
ket. Competing merchants have be
come interested in the methods Of do
Ing business Of the city-operated stalls
and appear anxious to try out prac.
tices that would enable them to lower
their prices. X
A City Goes Into Farming.
: Allentown, Pa, has gone into farm
ing on a farm acquired for other pur.
poses which, through changes In mu.
nicipal plans, was lying idle. Under
the direction Of. one Of the city alder.
men this farm is producing vegetables
and selling them at retail in compete
ton with shipped-in produce. The
farm also feeds 1000 head Of hogs on
city garbage. Local advocates Of the
plan now propose to include the use
Of an old brewery as a storage ware.
house for potatoes and other products
grown by local farmers, so as to lessen
the city's dependence on shippedin
products.
Although the bureau Of markets,
through It's city market division, II
keeping in touch with developments
In many cities and is compiling In
formation for use in answering In
luiries, it states that it would be glad
to hear from any cities, not as yet
reached by formal inquiry, which are
working on local food problems
through municipality owned shops and
by other methods differing from those
that have been followed In the past.
The bureau plans to make available in
formation in regard to the successes
and failures Of cities In their efforts to
solve their food problems In order that
municipalities contemplating special
action may have the benefit Of the e1-
perience Of communities faced with
similar conditions.
S. - LE-.