Which president started welfare and food stamps?

Modern welfare and food stamps in the United States were built across multiple presidencies rather than started by one president. The foundation for federal welfare was laid during the Great Depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the Social Security Act of 1935, which created Aid to Dependent Children, the predecessor to later cash assistance programs. The first Food Stamp Program was also launched under Roosevelt in 1939 to help farmers and low-income families, but it ended in 1943. The contemporary Food Stamp Program was established as a pilot under President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and made permanent under President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of his War on Poverty with the Food Stamp Act of 1964. The program was significantly expanded and reformed under later presidents, including Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, who eliminated the requirement to purchase stamps. In 2008, the program was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, under President George W. Bush. So Roosevelt started the earliest versions, while Kennedy and Johnson created the modern food stamp structure.