ABSTRACT
The vast majority of people in the Roman world lived in rural areas, but a notable minority lived in towns and cities and were dependent on the market for their food supply. This chapter considers both the nature and extent of the regulation and intervention, and the motivation behind it. It examines direct food assistance through grain distributions, alimentary schemes, and public banquets, and explores both direct and indirect interventions in the market. One of the most direct ways in which the Roman authorities intervened in the urban food supply was through the distribution of subsidised or free grain to urban populations, most famously in the city of Rome itself. Alimenta schemes were somewhat different to the grain distributions in that they provided funds specifically intended for the maintenance of children. The authorities had several options open to them to ensure that there was a supply of affordable grain on the market in Rome.
