This was where the dole came in. Starting in the late 3rd century BCE, politicians began distributing grain to the lower classes, mostly to men who could vote, in an effort to gain popularity and get elected. A century and a half later, Gaius Gracchus instituted a measure which allowed people to buy grain at a lower price. By this point, the availability of free or affordable grain to at least some of the populace of the City was so entrenched that to take it away might well have resulted in revolts. Julius Caesar, among others, tried to lower the number of people who were eligible, but the numbers always went up again. Eventually, the office of Prefect of Annona was set up to oversee the distribution. Emperors and other wealthy people also set up programs to supplement the official grain dole.
The thing is, these things supported men and boys almost exclusively. Women couldn’t vote or be soldiers and they were considered far less likely to rise in revolt if they couldn’t get food. Girls, meanwhile, wouldn’t grow up to be soldiers. Programs that supported children often gave less to girls than to boys and less to illegitimate children than legitimate ones. A few funds were created specifically for girls, most notably the “puellae Faustinae,” in memory of Faustina the Elder and the “novae puellae Faustinae,” in memory of her daughter. Most programs though, gave far more to men and boys than to women and girls, if they included them at all.
*And oh boy the politics of that one, not to mention the exploitation of other peoples. But that’s a story for another day.
Alföldy, Géza. The Social History of Rome. Translated by David Braund and Frank Pollock. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.
Pomeroy, Sarah. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Pantheon Books, 1995.
William Smith, Frumentariae Leges - Lacus Curtius
Society and Daily Life - The Romans
Grain Supply to the City of Rome - Wikipedia