125
630 relief fam.ilies particip.ated in this program in v/hich
they v/ere given assigned plots of ground and in the spring,
given seed assortmionts. It is estim.ated that in DuPage
County alone, more than 567,014 pounds of vegetables v/ere
p harvested through this program, in 1955.'^
In order to enable these families to put up their surplus produce for the v/inter, the DuPage County Relief set up a canning project under v/hich these vegetables as v/ell as fruits v/ere canned for future use. Under this program., the relief client bringing in the food received four out of every five cans which were filled with his produce. The fifth can v.^as retained for future distrit-u- tion t'j the relief committee. ' Not only did tkis program prove a financial success in that far m.ore v/as produced than could have been bought for the samie am.ount of mione3r, but it also helped the morale of normally hard-v/crking m.en v/ho at least had somie m.eans of self help.
Many in Naperville, not on relief, also used the canning plant as it took speci.al. equipm.ent to put up food in tin cans. Users of the cannery prepared their own produce and in payment donated a certain amount of their finished cans. Home canning was also done and as has heen mentioned before, the YMCA gave lessons for beginners. Eunice Bentz recalled trying to potty train her young son and can peaches at the samiO tim.e. She got so carried away with getting him on the pot every half hour she lost track of her canning and ruined a batch of peaches. "That v/as #2,50 for the peaches not to mention the sugar, I
%.C. Nov. 1^, 1955 p.l.
¦IV p
X < , ".y ,
Nov. 14, 1955 p.l.
The Naperville Heritage Collection
