How the Great Depression Changed the Way We Eat
Chipped beef on toast. Prune pudding. Peanut butter–stuffed baked onions. Sound yummy? The story behind these recipes is interesting and more important than you might think.
The years after World War I, known as the “Roaring Twenties,” were prosperous. Technological and industrial developments led to mass production, high employment, and rising wages for American workers. The widespread use of automobiles and electricity made consumer goods cheaper and more accessible. Most Americans lived in cities by 1920. Families enjoyed inventions such as telephones, radios, washing machines, and, by the end of the decade, refrigerators.
In 1929, this prosperity came to an abrupt end. The stock market collapsed, plunging the
country into an economic depression that lasted for the next ten years. Weather conditions added to the hardships, as agricultural communities were slammed by drought, floods, and dust storms in states like Kansas and Oklahoma. There were shortages in critical food supplies. Millions of farmers lost their farms. They moved to cities in search of jobs, but the industries that had employed so many people in the 1920s shut down and laid off their workers. By 1933, unemployment in the country was at 25 percent. Americans were out of work.
Relief workers could see plenty of evidence that many people did not have enough to eat. The most visible sign of the food crisis was the breadlines that became common in urban areas. Churches and other charitable organizations distributed not only bread but sandwiches and other meals. By 1931, breadlines in New York City were serving 85,000 meals a day.
Local, state, and federal government officials disagreed on the best way to help families dealing with food shortages. Some thought that the government had a moral and political responsibility to provide families with assistance. Others worried that giving out free food would lead to dependence and would discourage people from trying to find jobs. Some officials even felt that the food crisis was exaggerated. President Herbert Hoover claimed in 1931 that “no one is actually starving.”
(6) Families got creative about how they got food and how they cooked it. Some urban families collected dandelion greens from public parks and vacant lots to use in salads and stews. Leftovers were important, as one dish needed to be stretched into a week’s worth of meals. Interesting dishes began to show up in cookbooks and on American dinner tables. “Mix and match” soup was a good way to use old vegetables. Dishes like liver loaf, peanut loaf, and lima bean loaf could be made of cheap ingredients, padded with filler such as crackers or oatmeal, and stretched out for several meals. Fruit was expensive, so “mock apple pie” and “vinegar cobbler” were made with crackers and cider vinegar. Prunes were cheap, so dishes such as prune pudding appeared, even on President Franklin Roosevelt’s dinner table. Cheap processed food products that added flavor to bland dishes, such as bouillon(1) and ketchup, also became popular during this time.
(7) In 1933, the federal government started the Federal Emergency Relief Administration to oversee the distribution of food to American families. One effect of the food shortage was that many Americans, especially children, suffered from vitamin deficiencies. The government also launched a public service campaign to improve the nutrition problem. Government experts held classes and handed out pamphlets to instruct Americans on the proper way to feed their families. The government even sponsored a popular radio show featuring a character called Aunt Sammy (Uncle Sam’s wife), who lectured listeners about nutrition and shared recipes.
The government also encouraged Americans to drink cow’s milk. Milk was thought to be a
“wonder food.” Children were told to drink a quart of milk per day! Foods “fortified” with milk were created. In 1933, scientists at Cornell University invented a cereal made of powdered milk, corn meal, and salt. The cereal was called Milkorno and was supposed to help families “stretch budgets without sacrificing nourishment.”
While Americans were experimenting with prunes and with peanut butter-stuffed baked onions, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal infrastructure projects began to change the way food was distributed around the country. New road, bridge, and electrical-grid projects connected farming communities and urban areas. For the first time, families could get out-of-season foods, frozen or canned goods, and fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year.
Lima bean loaf might not be on your family’s dinner menu anymore. However, from
government advice about nutrition to the mass production of vitamin-enriched foods, the Great Depression dramatically changed the way Americans eat and resulted in the modern food culture we know today.
(1) bouillon—a clear soup broth