Timeline: History of families and family resource management

1871

Mary B Welch.

Mary B Welch taught home economics to women in Iowa State College, this is believed to be the first effort in the U.S. to teach home economics to college students.

1873

Richards graduates MIT

Ellen Richards Swallows graduates from MIT receiving her S.B. degree, after being the first woman admitted to the college.

1890

New England Kitchen opened

Ellen Swallow Richards was a big part of the New England Kitchen opened in Boston which provided working-class families with nutritious food, scientifically prepared at a low cost.

1899

The lake placid conference

The field's mission has been to improve family wellbeing by enabling families to be successful in their reciprocal relationships with the environments in which they function.

1908

IFHE

It organizes world congresses and promotes household and family as an economic and educational environment for the individual in a social context. It supports education for sustainable development and the un-Development Goals.

1917

Smith- Hughes Act:

Home Economics was a part of the high school curriculum and supported by federal funding

1964

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

The SNAP federal government program was a bill passed to help low income families and individuals purchase adequate food.

1993

The family and medical leave act

a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reason.

1993

Name change

Five leading associates recommended changing the well-known name of "home economics" to "family and consumer sciences". The old title was too restrictive and overloaded with misinformation surrounding research, application, and curriculum. This was marked as the general changeover of the name.

1994

AAFCS

Association's name changes from American Home Economics Association to American Association of Family and Consumer Science. FHA and HERO combined to create FHA/ HERO.

2023