Wow, My mothers family did this and it was a way of life...I became a hater of alchohol because when I was a kid I tried moonshine...They lived in a dry state and it was the only way to actually make a way to put food on the table.
My mother said her family seemed to 'fair' better that the other farmers around them during the depression. I'm thinking the money from the moonshine may be the reason.
My father, who's family was near by, "damn near starved."