Great-Depression Issue San Francisco Crystal Palace Market Token, Good For 5 Cents 1933 - Food Stamp San Francisco Crystal Palace Market

"FSCC" refers to a historical entity, the Food Surplus Commodities Corporation (FSCC), which was an early predecessor to the modern Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. The FSCC was established during the Great Depression to distribute surplus agricultural products to low-income families, laying the groundwork for today's program, which provides benefits on EBT cards to help eligible households purchase groceries. The name of the FSCC was changed in 1935 to FSCP. 

The San Francisco Crystal Palace Market was a classic large center-city market, operating at 8th and Market Streets from 1923 to 1959.

“The Palace was an emporium dedicated to the palates of the cosmos. It probably had food from Saturn. It was the FAO Schwarz of the stomach.”

Thus author Gus Lee describes the Crystal Palace Market of his youth in China Boy.

His description is no exaggeration. During its 36-year run, the 71,000-square-foot market imported goods from at least 37 countries to provide the most varied offerings in the country. Its 65 shops included four dairy stands – selling 36,000 eggs daily – four poultry stands, six butcher shops, three fish markets, and seven fruit and vegetable stands. It featured a pet shop, a five and dime, two tobacco shops, and a phonograph record store. One stand sold only golden honey. When banks eliminated Saturday hours in 1953, the Crystal Palace Market promptly opened a check cashing service to meet its customers’ needs.

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