During the Great Depression, many farmers were paid record low prices for their food. This was because there was more farm-grown food than people needed. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tried to solve the problem by giving the extra food to schools. The USDA was allowed to use government money to buy extra food and give it to the schools. In order to receive the food donations, school lunch programs had to run on a non-profit basis. This meant that the meals needed to be served to poor students at free or reduced rates. School cafeterias began to pop up around the country. Both the schools and the USDA began to depend on the relationship. 