The Union was able to provide larger rations to it soldiers than the Confederacy. Nevertheless, even they were issued flour, pork or beef, beans, potatoes, coffee and hardtack (crackers), and told to cook for themselves. Those who had their families with them had an easier time of dealing with food, although rations were limited and foods like hardtack were often old, infested with insects and hardly edible. Agents of the US Sanitary Commission visited the Union camps and reporting to the US government about the needs of the soldiers. The government also provided postal service to the army, facilitating their communication with their families. Uniforms, which were Blue for the Union, initially varied widely across regiments, but were eventually standardized to the government-issued uniforms for Regulars.