feb 2, 1962 - The Food Stamp Program starts up again as a pilot

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"... President Kennedy's first Executive Order called for expanded food distribution and, on Feb. 2, 1961, he announced the initiation of Food Stamp pilot programs. The pilot programs would retain the requirement that the food stamps be purchased, but eliminated the concept of special stamps for surplus foods. A Department spokesman indicated the emphasis would be on increasing the consumption of perishables. Isabelle Kelley, who was part of the four-person team that designed the new program, became its first director and the first woman in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to head an action program.
Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville, West Virginia, were the first food stamp recipients on May 29, 1961. They purchased $95 in food stamps for their 15-person household. In the first food stamp transaction, they bought a can of pork and beans at Henderson's Supermarket. By January 1964, the pilot programs had expanded from eight areas to 43 (40 counties, Detroit, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh) in 22 states with 380,000 participants." 1

Source:
1. USDA. A Short History of SNAP. USDA Food and Nutrition Service. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/short-history-snap. Updated September 11, 2018. Accessed April 20, 2021.

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