Michigan CROP collection

Collection

Identifier: 00253

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This collection consists of materials from the Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP) relating to Michigan. Included in the collection are minutes of the CROP Board of Managers, proclamations, incorporation materials, and flyers from their 25th anniversary. Also included is a scrapbook and several photographs and negatives of rail cars being loaded and shipped with beans, the Heifer Project, and the Friendship Acres where people donated part of their harvest to the Michigan CROP.

Dates

Creation: 1950 - 1983

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Biographical/Historical

The Christian Rural Overseas Program, also known as CROP, was formed in 1947 through a joint effort between the Church World Service, Lutheran World Relief, and the National Catholic Welfare Program to help combat hunger worldwide. CROP received gifts from farmers who donated parts of their harvest to the program. Each state had its own director and committee who worked with county and local committees. Local church representatives were responsible for gathering collections to help add to the effort.

This collection focuses only on the Michigan CROP. Included in the photographs are numerous Michigan communities and farmers that donated goods, mostly beans, to help ease world hunger.