A Call to Save Grain

In the fall of 1876, Emmeline B. Wells accepted Brigham Young’s assignment to lead Latter-day Saint women in a grain storage program. She began by writing this editorial in the newspaper that she edited, the Woman’s Exponent, calling on readers to act “immediately without any delay.” Women began that very year, buying, bartering, growing, gleaning, selling, and storing wheat. They guarded the wheat carefully, loaned it to the poor, and shared it in times of drought. These relief efforts expanded in 1906, when the women sent wheat and other supplies after an earthquake in San Francisco and during famine in China. The U.S. government purchased some of the wheat during World War I. The interest income contributed to maternity care, child welfare, and general health care for Church members.