Allen Canning began to establish connections with locals growers and expand beyond tomatoes, but within a few years Allen Canning had to face the challenge of the Depression. The company managed to scrape by and survive the 1930s, which were also extremely difficult on the growers. Earl Allen established a solid reputation for his honesty in dealing with growers, forging relationships that would benefit the company for years to come. The advent of World War II in the first half of the 1940s revived the economy as well as spurred the growth of Allen Canning, which supplied canned vegetables to the military. Following the war, the United States, after a brief recession, enjoyed a decade-long period of expansion, fueled in large part by the economic activity of returning servicemen, who married and began raising the Baby Boom generation in the new suburbs. The self-service grocery store concept also came into its own as larger "super" markets became the norm and spread across the country in chains. With the expansion of retail outlets, canners like Allen Canning prospered as well. Also, during the 1940s a second generation of the Allen family took charge, as 29-year-old Delbert Allen, Sr., now led the company.