Feed Sack, Flour Sack, Flour Bag, Chicken Linen, Feed Bag

All were terms used to describe the printed cloth bags which were meant to transport flour, sugar, animal feed, rice, seed, and fertilizer.  As the idea of the decorative bag gained popularity in 1930’s the companies selling the processed contents of the bags began to use the printed bags as much for advertising and promotion.

Prior to the cloth sacks grains and flour were commonly transported in tins and barrels.  Interestingly enough, as the feed sacks gained popularity the bags were made in various sizes to fit into standard size barrels.  For example a 1 barrel bag held 196 pounds.  A 1/8 barrel bag held only 24 pounds.

As the depression increased in severity the demand among US households for these unique cloth bags became more popular. This “free” recyclable fabric found its way into uses as varied as children’s clothing, aprons, dresses, and underpants. It’s estimated that by 1943 perhaps 3,000,000 households were wearing garments made from feed sacks!