Does Government Cheese Still Exist ? - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Does Government Cheese Still Exist ? (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 7/22/2012 7:21:53 PM EDT

[#1]

My grandmother used to tell us about welfare back during the depression.

She said it consisted of a bag of flour, eggs(if they were available), cheese(if it was available), butter(if it was available), apples(if they were in season), and potatoes(if they were in season).

It was the equivalent of food stamps back then.

She also used to talk about the frequent use of lard and goose grease, something people used to spread on toast. I still have no idea what the hell goose grease was, but I'm guessing it was rendered goose fat.

She was thankful that she and my grandfather never needed to resort to standing in the food lines back then. Many people back then weren't so lucky.

Posted: 7/22/2012 7:33:32 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I remember days where the government bought excess cheese and gave it away to the poor. It came in big square "logs" IIRC.

Does anyone know if it still exists?

I (my family as a child, 25 years ago) got a block of government cheese for Christmas one year from my great aunt. She was dirt poor and that was all she had, like most of my family she didn't have much but shared what she had. She died two weeks ago on her 80th birthday, may God rest her soul.

I find that touching.

Seriously.

Posted: 7/22/2012 7:34:32 PM EDT

[#3]

I worked as a Deputy for the county for several years, we would get the Govt cheese, boy that's good stuff! We could get real butter also, I never tried it but gave a brick of it to my sister, she said her family didn't like the butter.

Posted: 7/22/2012 7:34:43 PM EDT

[#4]

One of my co-worker grew up in the south. Her family was very, very poor and they got govt. assistance. I asked her about the type of food they would get and she said powdered milk was popular along with the cheese. She described the cheese as having the texture of velveeta and said it wasn't bad at all. She said they would get a lot of cheese for the governement.

Posted: 7/22/2012 7:40:17 PM EDT

[#5]

Posted: 7/22/2012 8:19:51 PM EDT

[#6]

It was good stuff. I'd just as soon it continued if the government is going to subsidise farming in any way.

Posted: 7/22/2012 8:29:46 PM EDT

[#7]

If the republic should fall, cockroaches, spam and gubmint cheese will still be around in abundance.

Posted: 7/22/2012 9:39:39 PM EDT

[#8]

My grandparents got that stuff back in the 80s. I recall that it made terrific grilled cheese sammiches. That shit was great! Everybody at the time referred to it as "Ronald Reagan Cheese" since he was in office. I also remember there was some apple sauce available too that was pretty good.

The thing that pisses me off, I've tried various kinds of similar packaged cheeses from various stores, yet I can never find one that is quite as good as the old Ronald Reagan cheese of the 1980s. I'd just like to find out who actually made the cheese so I could buy the real deal.

Posted: 7/22/2012 9:45:12 PM EDT

[#9]

They give them cars and cell phones now too.

Posted: 7/22/2012 9:49:16 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:

was it well made, best ingredients, type cheese or what? it sounds almost special from the reviews here. can i get something equally tasty today? i'm curious.

From what I recall, it tasted a lot like velveeta. Consistency was similar as well.

Saltier than velveeta.

Posted: 7/22/2012 9:56:06 PM EDT

[#11]

It is still made. Comes in a generic package (long brick) but with the Land O Lakes logo. If you want something very very similar to Government Cheese, buy the sliced cheese from Schwann's. Good stuff it effin is

Posted: 7/22/2012 9:58:41 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
My family was POOR when I was a kid. I'm very familiar with that stuff. I don't know if it's still around, though. I also remember the cans of beef, pork and chicken.

Yep, don't forget the govt salt, pepper, flour, butter beans, apple sauce and juice, raisins and corn meal.

I never saw govt meat, canned or not, but rice and beans were in abundance.

Kept my family from starving to death in the late 50's/60's.

To this day I cannot stand the smell of butter beans or apple juice..

Posted: 7/22/2012 9:59:01 PM EDT

[#13]

Where the hell did you guys get the cheddar? Every time I came across gubmint cheese, it was a poor knockoff of Kraft...

Posted: 7/22/2012 10:01:23 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
I remember days where the government bought excess cheese and gave it away to the poor. It came in big square "logs" IIRC.

Does anyone know if it still exists?

Wow. I remember using the Govt. block cheese in a middle school cooking class back in Wisconsin in the 80's. It was delicious Wisconsin cheese, just had the Govt. markings on it. I'm sure it's still around.

Posted: 7/22/2012 10:42:19 PM EDT

[#15]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_cheese

Government cheese is processed cheese that was provided to welfare and food stamp recipients in the United States from the 1960s through to the early 1990s. (The style of cheese predated the era, having been used in military kitchens since the Second World War and in schools since as early as the 1960s.)

Posted: 7/22/2012 11:05:46 PM EDT

[#16]

1st job I ever had was working while in high school at the commodities distribution center in South Mississippi passing out the cheese and all of the other items.
Around 1969 or 1970.
Never ate it. What would Keith Richards have done? You just gotta ask yourself that one pointed question. What would he have done?

Bill

Posted: 7/22/2012 11:38:19 PM EDT

[#17]

I worked in the dining hall at scout camp and we got it, we used it in everything. Commodity cheese.

Posted: 7/23/2012 12:05:02 AM EDT

[#18]

I got some of that stuff just last month. My mom would to the senior citizen center, and they pass it out to them. Really good stuff, if you had to buy it at the grocery store, it would be very expensive, this is high quality American cheese in blocks.

Posted: 7/23/2012 12:11:37 AM EDT

[#19]

+1

Posted: 7/23/2012 12:13:59 AM EDT

[#20]

I remember seeing it in the 90's. My great grandmother in butte montana used to get it.

Posted: 7/23/2012 7:41:16 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I remember days where the government bought excess cheese and gave it away to the poor. It came in big square "logs" IIRC.

Does anyone know if it still exists?

I (my family as a child, 25 years ago) got a block of government cheese for Christmas one year from my great aunt. She was dirt poor and that was all she had, like most of my family she didn't have much but shared what she had. She died two weeks ago on her 80th birthday, may God rest her soul.

My condolences sir. Those types of people are the ones we never forget. She sounds like she was a good person.

Posted: 7/23/2012 8:02:32 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:

I remember days where the government bought excess cheese and gave it away to the poor. It came in big square "logs" IIRC.

Does anyone know if it still exists?

I (my family as a child, 25 years ago) got a block of government cheese for Christmas one year from my great aunt. She was dirt poor and that was all she had, like most of my family she didn't have much but shared what she had. She died two weeks ago on her 80th birthday, may God rest her soul.

My condolences sir. Those types of people are the ones we never forget. She sounds like she was a good person.

She was, all the kids made the

face when it was time for hugs and kisses because she dipped Buttercup snuff

. I don't mean to derail the thread but she was buried beside her sister in a plot where several generations of our people are. She was the "baby" of her generation and outlived my grandparents and the rest of them by 20 years or so.

Posted: 7/23/2012 8:14:19 AM EDT

[#23]

"government cheese" was an artifact of government regulations designed to keep milk prices up so that milk production was profitable. It was a subsidy. That subsidy produced milk and something had to be done with the milk. Making it into a cheese product (because cheese has always been a method for keeping milk for long periods of time) was thought to be better than pouring it down a drain. So now the government has this cheese. What to do with it? Give it to schools, perhaps. Ever wonder why "pizza" is such a popular lunch item at schools? Discount cheese. Give it to the poor. Etc.

Posted: 7/23/2012 10:51:52 AM EDT

[#24]

I've led a deprived life, I guess. I've never seen any of that govt stuff. All my "poor" relatives that lived out on a crappy farm made all their own stuff.

Never saw anyone on the dole.

Posted: 7/23/2012 10:54:18 AM EDT

[#25]

My wife got it as a kid in the 80's for sure, and possibly the 90's (I'd have to ask her).

Posted: 7/23/2012 10:55:50 AM EDT

[#26]

I still have some Gov Cheese in my lower intestines from the 80's.

Posted: 7/23/2012 11:34:35 AM EDT

[#27]

Does anyone recall the day the Govt. Cheese died? May 5, 1991. I recall the horror like it was yesterday.

There was a massive fire in a warehouse that stored .GOV cheese in Madison Wisconsin. Millions of pounds of butter and cheese (no kidding).

All that deliciousness lost. Lost I tell you. Gone.....

I have to go lay down.

ETA:
The fire started on May 3rd. It burned for days.

Posted: 7/23/2012 11:37:31 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes. <snip> It was some good shit.

Like a sharp American. It was good.

Fuckin' A! Good stuff.

Posted: 7/23/2012 12:01:17 PM EDT

[#29]

Yes it does.

Heat it up in the heater and pour it on the crackers. I prefer the jalapeno cheese spread.

Posted: 7/23/2012 12:11:31 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Yes. I was helping a friend of mine clean a foreclosed home (his business) and the fridge was still stocked. We made tht block disappear by the end of the nrxt day. It was some good shit.

I bet you shit quickcrete too.

it was pretty rough.

Posted: 7/23/2012 12:27:08 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
My family was POOR when I was a kid. .

Me, too. On Christmas Eve my dad would sneak into our room and cut holes in our pants pockets so we would have something to play with in the morning.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Does Government Cheese Still Exist ? (Page 2 of 2)

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