• March 25, 1974
• Vol. 1
• No. 4

Hearst Food Plan of 50 Years Ago

Infrequently as they were delivered, the messages of Patricia Hearst's kidnappers contained a common ring: demands for more. As new steps were taken to expand the free food distribution program insisted upon by the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Hearst family received a tape recording of their daughter's voice, criticizing the quality and amount of food being given away. Thus far about $1.5 million has been distributed, with another $4 million pledged when Patty is freed. In the protracted agony, it has been all but forgotten that Patty's grandmother, Millicent Hearst, voluntarily set up a free milk program for the poor children of New York City in the 1920s. It was still in operation in 1959, when Mrs. Hearst was honored as the individual who had done the most that year for needy children.