Hillsborough County Defense Council
Chamber of Commerce Building
Tampa, Florida

March 24, 1942

ATTENTION: ALL RETAIL MERCHANTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

You are no doubt aware of the fact that we are beginning to throw an unusual strain on our rail transportation facilities, and that at this time there is a growing shortage of refrigerator cars. If you do not have the facts, you can quickly check them with the local railroad officials.

You can do your part to relieve this strain on transportation and at the same time help Florida farmers by displaying and putting forth aggressive selling efforts on Florida produced Iceberg Lettuce, fresh Tomatoes, Cabbages, Florida grown red and white potatoes, and all other home-grown fruits and vegetables.

If your store sells 2000 lbs. of Florida-grown produce each week instead of 2000 lbs. of shipped-in produce, you will be saving transportation space totaling 4000 lbs. each week, (If Florida produce is not sold here, it will be transported to Northern markets, and conversely the produce grown in other sections must be shipped into Florida before it can be sold here.) Your efforts in promoting the sale of Florida produce when it is in season can play an important part in helping to release steamships and railroad cars to be used in our war effort.

FLORIDA ICEBERG LETTUCE is now on the market and we are asking the newspapers to carry publicity to help the retailer sell this Lettuce in the place of shipped-in lettuce. Receivers also are asked to discontinue the importation of carrots whenever Florida carrots are available.

Retailers are asked to cooperate in a program of conserving all of our economic wealth, and at certain times growers will ask retailers to put emphasis on small sized tomatoes, commercial potatoes, and such items as can not be shipped North, but which can readily be sold by the retailers at prices lower than those asked for top grade. Let’s now allow any perishable commodities which are good, wholesome foods to be wasted nor destroyed. Let it not be said that the Japs can live on what we waste.

Remember Secretary of Agriculture Wickard’s slogan = “FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR AND DICTATE THE TERMS OF PEACE!”

LET’S DO OUR PART!!!!

E.J. KEEFE, Chairman, Food Division
Hillsborough County Defense Council

In cooperation with R.D. JACKSON, Chairman, Division of Agriculture

THIS BULLETIN PREPARED AND MAILED WITHOUT EXPENSE TO THE HILLSBOROUGH COUTY DEFENSE COUNCIL.