History of the Victory Garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. The government rationed foods like sugar, butter, milk, eggs, cheese, coffee, meat and canned goods. Labor and transportation shortages made it difficult to harvest and move fruits and vegetables to market so the government encouraged its citizens to plant “Victory Gardens.” Nearly 20 million Americans planted gardens which produced 40 percent of all of the vegetables consumed nationally.
A grassroots campaign has started that promotes new Victory Gardens in public spaces. Many citizens want to renew a national campaign for the Victory Garden and would like the re-establishment of a Victory Garden on the White House Lawn.
