Don't waste food while others starve!

First World War poster issued by the United States Food Administration. It features an image of a starving woman and her children standing in front of the bombed ruins of a cathedral. The title and text printed in black are positioned below. The text urges the viewer to conserve food as part of their war effort in order that the United States may continue to send food aid abroad. Belgium faced a food crisis in 1914 after being invaded by Germany. Herbert Hoover worked for the Committee for Relief in Belgium (CRB). The CRB became, in effect, an independent republic of relief, with its own flag, navy, factories, mills, and railroads. After the United States entered the war in April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover head of the U.S. Food Administration. Hoover believed "food will win the war." He established set days to encourage people to avoid eating particular foods in order to save them for soldiers' rations: meatless Mondays, wheatless Wednesdays, and "when in doubt, eat potatoes."