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Show Cities Tackle the Food Problem Variety of Ways, Some of Them Unusual, Are Being Tried Out. HOiY ONE WSELLS FOOD Houston, Tex., Handles Fruits and Vegetables in Competition With Tenants of Its Municipally-Owned Municipally-Owned Market House. (Prepared by' the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) Washington. That municipalities are tackling their local food problems In a variety of ways, some of them unusual, is evidenced by reports received re-ceived by the city marketing division of the bureau of markets. United States department of agriculture. From establishing curb markets, remodeling, re-modeling, or building retail market houses, efforts of cities have expanded until some are actually selling food supplies, while one city of about 65,-000 65,-000 population is operating a farm and selling produce from it at retail. How One City Sells Food. Houston, Tex., which has a municipally munici-pally owned retail market house, has taken over three stalls in the building build-ing and is handling fruits and vegetables vege-tables in competition with Its tenants. In order to be fair to other retailers It charges Itself with all overhead expenses ex-penses paid by other dealers, Including rent, and also pays wages higher than those paid In other stalls. Reports on ten weeks' operation of the city-managed city-managed stalls show that it is possible possi-ble to buy and sell produce In com- petition with local merchants at both a direct and indirect saving to consumers. con-sumers. The experiment is to be enlarged en-larged to include food products other than fruits and vegetables and is said to be already serving as a stabilizing influence on prices in that city market. mar-ket. Competing merchants have be-; be-; come interested in the methods of doing do-ing business of the city-operated stalls and iippear anxious to try out practices prac-tices that would enable thuv:". to lower their prices. Allentown, Pa., has gone into farming farm-ing on a farm acquired for other purposes pur-poses which, through changes in municipal mu-nicipal plans, was lying idle. Under the direction of one of the city aldermen alder-men this farm Is producing vegetables and selling them at retail in competition competi-tion with sbipped-in produce. The farm also feeds 1,000 head of hogs on city garbage. Local advocates of the plan now propose to Include the use of an old brewery as a storage warehouse ware-house for potatoes and other products grown by local farmers, so as to lessen the city's dependence on shipped-in products. Although the bureau of markets, through its city market division, is keeping' in touch with developments In many cities and is compiling information in-formation for use in answering inquiries, in-quiries, it states that it would he glad to hear from any cities, not as yet reached by formal inquiry, which are working on local food problems through municipally owned shops and by other methods differing from those that have been followed in the past. The bureau plans to make available information in-formation in regard to the successes and failures of cities In their efforts to solve their food problems in order that municipalities contemplating special action may have the benefit of the experience ex-perience of communities faced with similar conditions. |