Clifford Clinton

Clifford E. Clinton (August 3, 1900 – November 20, 1969) was a California restaurateur who founded Meals for Millions, one of two parent organizations of Freedom from Hunger, in 1946. Clifford E. Clinton was also owner of a cafeteria-style restaurant chain named Clifton's.

In 1905, Clifford Clinton traveled to China (for the first time) with his missionary parents and 2-3 sisters – they were supported by their restaurant. They returned to California in 1906 to rebuild the restaurant which was destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Clifford was too young to remember much about this trip (Donald Clinton, Dec. 2010).

In 1905 the family was forced to escape the warlords by way of a major river (possibly the Yangtze). Their lives were saved by a Buddhist monk, who smuggled them to safety. The monk gifted the family with a figure of Buddha, which is still in the possession of relatives today. (Helen Vallow Williamson, niece, 2013)

1910 – With the family restaurant business again profitable, the Clinton family (except for little Anna, who stayed home with Grandma Hall) returned to China, but this time to south China and the area around Canton. The family worked at a Christian orphanage for the blind. Clifford, age 10, was now able to understand much more about daily life in China – and he was deeply moved by what he saw. His job was to go around each morning to collect the blind baby girls that had been left outdoors to die (girls are considered more expendable than boys) and to bring them back to the orphanage. He also saw the hunger and starvation around him created by the Boxer Rebellion (1898-1900), a time of chaos and disorder in China. With growing banditry, vandalism, and danger in general, the family returned to California in 1912. Clifford made a boyhood vow that if he could ever do anything to help hungry people, he would do it (Donald Clinton, Dec. 2010; Henry Borsook 1979).

In 1944, Clinton asked Dr. Henry Borsook, a Caltech biochemist, to develop a food supplement that would provide proper nutritional values while costing no more than five cents per meal. Clinton offered $5,000 of his own money to finance the research. In less than one year, Dr. Borsook and Mme. Soulange Berzceller, a skilled French cook, together developed Multi-Purpose Food (MPF), a high-protein food supplement that could be made for just three cents per meal. This led to the founding of Meals for Millions as a not-for-profit organization in 1946. During the next ten years, 6.5 million pounds of MPF were distributed to relief agencies in 129 countries, including the United States.

Clinton was involved with anti-corruption politics in Los Angeles in the 1930s and ran for mayor in 1945. According to historian Thomas Reppetto, Clinton may have been a target of LAPD harassment:

"Despite Chief [Jim] Davis's efforts, the vice problem and the radicals remained troublesome. In addition to the Red squad, the police department maintained a separate intelligence unit under Captain Earl Kynette, an experienced vice cop who undertook special investigations for Mayor Shaw and Chief Davis, including keeping an eye on alleged radicals such as State Assemblyman Sam Yorty. An even greater challenge to the police were the antivice forces of the city led by Clifford  Clinton, a restaurateur who was president of the Citizens Independent Vice Investigating Committee (CIVIC).  Clinton, the son of missionary parents, allowed his restaurant customers to pay whatever they chose, and during the Depression many people ate free. Strangely, after he undertook his CIVIC responsibilities, Clinton's taxes rose, a number of patrons claimed food poisoning, and several suffered nasty falls on his premises. Clinton himself also became accident-prone as trick motorcyclists and stunt men ran into or fell under his car. In October 1937 Clinton's house was bombed. Many suspected that behind such events was the fine hand of the intelligence squad."