On a Spring Day in 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville in McDowell County walked into Henderson’s Supermarket where they used food stamps to buy groceries. Their first purchase was a can of pork and beans which, when added to the rest of their supplies, helped the Muncys feed their 15-person household.

The Muncys were the first recipients of the new food stamp pilot program in the country. That was the fulfillment of a promise made by President John F. Kennedy during his Primary Election campaign in West Virginia where he witnessed firsthand “hardship, despair, personal tragedy, hunger and hopelessness.”

The following year, Kennedy announced a continuation of the pilot program in West Virginia and seven other locations saying, “Low income families are receiving better diets–

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