What kind of cheese was the government cheese?
Like traditional processed American cheese, it consists of a variety of cheese types and other ingredients, such as emulsifiers, blended together, and may be made of any of Cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, cheese curd, or granular cheese.
What President gave out government cheese?
President Ronald Reagan
In 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan declared 30 million pounds of American cheese would be distributed to food pantries, school lunch programs and other welfare programs.
What year did the government stop giving out cheese?
But by the time President Ronald Reagan took office in the ’80s, cheese prices were high and the administration was ready to cut it. The program, that is. The 2014 Farm Bill put the program to rest.
Why did they stop giving out government cheese?
By the 80s, the stockpiles were so large that merely storing them became prohibitively expensive. The government even paid dairy farmers not to produce any dairy for five years, buying the farmers’ cattle herds. The cheese would have eventually spoiled without any outlets, and there was no more space to store it.
Why do they call it government cheese?
Farmers started making way too much milk, which was turned into way too much cheese. At least 30 million pounds of it was distributed through nutrition assistance programs, and suddenly a block of surplus dairy product became a neatly packaged symbol of economic status known as “government cheese.”
Is government cheese still available?
It no longer exists in the format that existed from the 1950s to the 1990s–that block of orange stuff that was a cross between Velveeta an American Cheese. Today it is more an euphemism for welfare/food stamps.
Can you still get government cheese?
Can I still get government cheese?
What is bongards cheese?
About Bongards At Bongards, we are your trusted cheese partner. By making our own cheese we control the quality, freshness and consistency. As a farmer-owned co-op since 1908, Bongards has the cheese-making expertise to meet all your cheese needs. We have a tradition of doing things the right way – your way.
What is ‘government cheese?
In the early 1980s, the U.S. government distributed some 300 million pounds of pungent-smelling processed cheese that had been produced with federal funds. If you’ve ever tasted what’s known as “government cheese,” you won’t soon forget it.
Did the US government give away 300 million pounds of cheese?
In the early 1980s, the U.S. government distributed some 300 million pounds of pungent-smelling processed cheese that had been produced with federal funds. In the early 1980s, the U.S. government distributed some 300 million pounds of pungent-smelling processed cheese that had been produced with federal funds.
Why was cheese such an important topic for the press in the 1980s?
That cheese became an important topic for the press in the 1980s, when the press learned about the milk products that were being stored across the nation while millions of Americans felt food insecurity. During the same time in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan ‘s administration cut the budget on the US federal food stamp program.
How many pounds of cheese were in the US stockpile?
As anthropologist Bradley N. Jones notes, eventually the stockpile hit over 500 million pounds, stored in hundreds of warehouses in 35 states. The huge supply was a problem, but there was another catch: The government had no idea what to do with all that cheese.