Nautical Inn Clean Plate Club

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The Clean Plate Club was a campaign that resulted from the United States Congress passage of the Food and Fuel Control Act in 1917. This act sought to limit wasteful consumption in the country, thus freeing up more resources to fight in World War I. The club was a product of the U.S. Food Administration created by Woodrow Wilson out of the FFC Act, and headed by Herbert Hoover who publicly founded and marketed the club primarily to children. Young participants pledged that  “At table I’ll not leave a scrap of food upon my plate. And I’ll not eat between meals, but for supper time I’ll wait.” The U.S. Food Administration disbanded after World War I ended, but returned under President Harry S Truman for World War II and once again targeted children in elementary schools.