Food Shortage and Scarcity During Dust Bowl

The enduring issue of scarcity has hurt many people over many decades. Scarcity is the lack of appearance, amount, or supply. Scarcity can be caused by citizens panickily over buying goods. An enduring issue is a conflict that society has faced over a long period of time. The enduring issue of scarcity can cause many issues in society which was shown by the lack of job opportunities and food availability during the stock market crash of 1929.

During the stock market crash of 1929 in America many citizens were found to become unemployed from their jobs and lost all their income that helped support their families.

Business owners also weren’t in the best position either because citizens with no jobs, which was more than a quarter of the population weren’t buying any unneeded items so eventually all stores closed. This caused panic across the whole American nation to the point where people ran to the banks and asked for their life savings just to be able to access their basic needs.

Get quality help now

WriterBelle

Verified writer

Proficient in: Drought

4.7 (657)

“ Really polite, and a great writer! Task done as described and better, responded to all my questions promptly too! ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Crowds waited for hours outside the bank and started many riots for the bank to give them their money. According to the document, “Unemployed in the US 1920-1932’’ by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in the year 1932 over twenty two percent of the workforce was unemployed. FDR tried to resist this conflict with starting the concept of “The New Deal” which he claimed to put citizens back at work. This issue of scarce job opportunities caused many Americans to lose their homes, food, life savings, and even for some citizens their own families.

Food availability that Americans can afford, and access were limited during the stock market crash. The general population of America couldn’t afford food that could feed their families or even themselves. Many started to eat many natural materials that were found around their neighborhood. Some examples of this food are grass soup and dandelion salad. Apples were also sold very commonly for a very low price for those who can afford it. Parents that couldn’t feed their families would sell their children just to not worry about feeding another mouth. Even farmers couldn’t feed themselves because of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s that wiped out all their crops. The Dust Bowl was a drought that spread across the Great Plains causing respiratory illnesses and many deaths. According to the image, “Soup Kitchen, Chicago,1933” from History.com free soup kitchens were starting to appear around many areas across the country selling free coffee and doughnuts. These soup kitchens were started by Al Capone who started to help the public instead of sticking with his past and doing illegal acts. The issue of scarce food availability caused many families to starve for days and lose family members.

The enduring issue of scarcity can cause many issues in society which was shown by the lack of job opportunities and food availability during the stock market crash of 1929. The issue of scarcity is significate because it has affected thousands if people and their daily living. Although, this issue has been lasting over many centuries it has evolved over time. In present time a great example of this is the virus that has been spreading rapidly. Corona has forced many businesses to close and supermarkets to have empty shelves. With many people fearing catching the virus nobody is going in public or even online to buy anything. This forced many to panic and stock up on needs like food. So, most foods that could be part of somebody’s daily routine are scarcer to find. It was also announced on the news that unemployment is at its highest percentage in history ever. As proven by modern day examples the continuous issue of scarcity can affect and has affected many generations.