United States School Garden Army

The United States School Garden Army (USSGA), was founded by the Bureau of Education[1][2] in 1917 during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson's.

[3] Wilson described gardening as "just as real and patriotic an effort as the building of ships or the firing of cannon"[4] and opined that "food will win the war".

[5] The USSGA was set up to encourage gardening among school children, in the hopes of preventing a potential food scarcity after World War I.

[5] The Bureau of Education distributed manuals and guides (featuring data on soil health)[7] across the nation to children ages 9–15[8] and their teachers.

By Armistice Day, a large number of American children had answered the call to become "Soldiers of the Soil".