To ensure the fresh produce didn't go to waste, the commission promoted the creation of community canneries where the extra could be preserved. Girls' clubs and women's clubs helped with the canning. In addition, there were community markets where people could sell their surplus to those that needed it. Troops of Boy Scouts harvested crops. Transportation of various sorts, including automobiles, moved the produce from the gardens to the canneries. Members of the Federation of Women's Clubs supervised the marketing and canning of the produce.
In addition to canning, the commission promoted dehydration. Large quantities of apples, peaches, and other foods were dried. The group published lots of publication with instructions for building inexpensive dehydrators along with directions on drying and storing the produce.
To see just how many people were involved, let's take a look at some communities around the country. In Dallas, Texas there were around 20,000 war gardens in 1918. These citizens produced 17,500 cans of vegetables in just a few weeks from their garden plots. Temples, Texas had 5000 war gardens. In one growing season alone, the town produced an astounding quantity of black eye peas-one ton. The town of Marion, Indiana only had a population of about 29,000 people. Yet, it had 14,081 vegetable plots.
Factories also had their war gardens, such as the one at the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, NY.
In 1918, the commission estimated there were over five million war gardens in the country. These produced an estimated 528 million pounds of garden produce.
Victory Gardens of World War II
During World War II, a similar gardening movement swept the country. Most commonly these were known as Victory gardens. The White House lawn became a garden in which carrots, cabbages, and tomatoes were grown at the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
As part of the war effort, the American government called on citizens to plant 18 million victory gardens. The response was overwhelming. Some 21 million were established, and actually produced around 40% of the country's vegetables.
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