105 lbs. flour-3 cents a lb.
1 lb. tea-45 cents a lb.
10 lbs. sugar-6 cents a lb.
4 lbs. butter-20 cents a lb.
6 lbs. pork-12 cents a lb.
6 lbs. corned beef-11cents a lb.
3 lbs. split peas-6 cents a lb.
3 lbs. beans-6 cents a lb.
4 lbs. rice-6 cents a lb.
7 lbs. rolled oats-6 cents a lb.
5 tins milk-11cents a tin
1 box yeast-10 cents a box
1 bar soap-8 cents a bar
1 bag salt-5 cents a bag
1 gallon kerosene-33 cents a gallon

This was how a family of five could live on a total of $8.51 each month.⁸ Of course, people were never given money to buy things. They could only get what was on the list. They had no choice about what they could get to eat.

The flour was a special problem. The government had brought in brown flour. It had nutrients added to it. It was supposed to be better for you than white flour. Women complained that they could not bake with it. The flour was rough and grainy, and the bread was heavy, or "dunch." A recipe was sent out to show women how to bake with the flour, but many people were not happy with it. They wanted to make bread the way they always had. For some people, brown bread was just another example of how people had no control over their lives.

Many people thought that they should have the right to choose their own groceries. They saw this as a basic freedom. They felt that the government should not be telling people what to eat. The members of unemployed groups were against such controls. They wrote government to complain.

One such letter was sent to the Commission of Government on March 2, 1935. It is described as being from "a committee of the unemployed."⁹ The very first request on the letter was that people on relief be able to choose their own food. The government's answer did not leave much room to discuss the issue. Next to the request, a member of the government wrote a single word-no.