On October 5, 1947, President Harry Truman made the first televised presidential address from the White House, asking Americans to conserve on food so it could be shared with post-war Europe. Each person should eat seven fewer slices of bread per week, eat no meat on Tuesdays, and no eggs or poultry on Thursdays. This program was short-lived as Truman’s economic recovery plan for Europe—the Marshall Plan—began to help sooner than expected.
