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A Department for Food has been organised by the Central Committee.
It came into existence last year during the food crisis. At first it was a department of the People's Commissariat of Post and Telegraph, but after the 2nd. All-Russian Congress, it was taken under the Control of the Central Committee. The work of the Food Department mainly consisted in helping the members of the Union to get rationed food supplies; a large number of the workers and employees lived in far off provinces where the State Distributive Departments had not yet resumed their functions and therefore could not provide themselves with food at fixed prices. Apart from this food purchasing agencies were opened but the results obtained were insignificant because the corn-growing districts had been occupied by the whites. In spite of this the Food Department succeeded in securing about 80 wagons of food. Again, a certain number of horses and cattle were bought in the Ukraine by the Derpartment for agricultural estates. The Central Food Department had secured several estates in the Moscow province. At present the estates are organised and supplied with the necessary tools and implements. Last summer 390 acres of land were cultivated besides the work done by the provincial Departments. At present the Union has secured about 69 estates; the People's Commissariat for Agriculture has assigned 5,000.000 roubles for their organisation. The Food Department supplies the provincial Departments with seeds. Last year the Central Department organised a colony for 150 children. Moreover, vegetable gardens and laundries for the members have been organised. In view of militarisation and the extreme difficulty of getting sufficient food, the Post and Telegraph workers of Petrograd, Moscow and 22 provinces are receiving the same amount of food as the workers for the Defence.
