Food Mission Diaries of Hugh Gibson, 1946 and 1947

Overview

In the spring of 1946 famine brought on by World War II and disastrous droughts threatened more than 800 million people (about one-third of the world's population). President Harry Truman called Herbert Hoover out of retirement to lead the US President's Famine Emergency Committee, often called the Food Mission. Hugh Gibson accompanied Hoover on this worldwide mission. Together they visited more than forty countries and territories to evaluate needs, identify surpluses, and quickly move food from one region to another. In approximately three months they traveled more than 50,000 miles. Gibson’s daily record of events provides a dizzying cross-section of the world just one year after the war ended.

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News/Press
Hugh Gibson’s diaries documenting Herbert Hoover’s 1946–47 food mission are now available online

With the tragic earthquakes in Haiti and Chile earlier this year, and the recent floods in Pakistan, we are reminded once again of the primacy of food in relief operations for people in distress, whether suffering from natural or man-made catastrophes.

September 30, 2010
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News/Press
Hugh Gibson’s Diaries Documenting Herbert Hoover’s Post-World War II Food Mission Available Online

Gibson wrote this daily journal when he accompanied Herbert Hoover around the world on the so-called food mission to assess needs and coordinate efforts in alleviating the famine caused by severe droughts and the devastation wrought by World War II.

February 11, 2010
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