In 1933, the United States stumbled into the worst year of the Great Depression. A quarter of the population had no work, millions had no homes, and nearly everyone suffered from hunger. In coastal cities, children scoured the docks in hopes of finding rotten vegetables to eat. Some rural families survived by eating weeds. The purpose of a meal—often little more than liver loaf or an onion stuffed with peanut butter—was to fill one’s stomach; nutrition was a luxury.