When I was a little girl in the Depression era, country breakfast is the meal that I most remember! During the corn-husking season my parents used a home smoke-cured ham to feed the men who walked out in the dark each day. Along with the slice of ham, my mother served fried potatoes, eggs and biscuits, milk and coffee. What filling food!
In the winter, just after the “beef butchering” day in the barnyard, we would eat fresh, fried liver every meal until it was used up. Winter mornings when my Dad didn’t have to hurry out to do the chores, he liked to cook breakfast. Choosing to slice some of the fresh beef-steak from the carcass, hanging high in the rafters in the freezing cold shed, my Dad often served delicious cubed-steak with man-made milk gravy (spread thick and wide) over a giant-size slice of home-made white bread.
Frequent times, in late evenings, Dad would coax my Mom to cook a kettle of com-meal and make mush. This she would pat down in a loaf pan and then slice it in the morning and fry each piece. We put sorghum syrup on the golden hunk of mush to make our early morning meal.
I cannot remember that we ever had fruit juice, omelets, a blueberry muffin or citrus on our breakfast menu in the Depression years. We had enough to eat of what my parents raised on the farm.
Our enormous breakfasts served their double-duty: most winter days only two meals were prepared for the family.
During the Depression years, one mother of five daughters made biscuits every morning of the year to save their bread. Another lady made pancakes 365 days of the year to feed breakfast to 10 children. Our beefsteak-breakfasts were exotic!
Hope Robinson
Yale, Iowa
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from Capper’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.
FAQs
When I was a little girl in the Depression era, country breakfast is the meal that I most remember! During the corn-husking season my parents used a home smoke-cured ham to feed the men who walked out in the dark each day. Along with the slice of ham, my mother served fried potatoes, eggs and biscuits, milk and coffee.
What did farmers eat during the Great Depression? ›
Almost all farm families raised large gardens with vegetables and canned fruit from their orchards. They had milk and cream from their dairy cattle. Chickens supplied meat and eggs. They bought flour and sugar in 50-pound sacks and baked their own bread.
What did Americans eat for breakfast in the 1920s? ›
In the 1920's Americans typically ate light breakfasts of coffee, orange juice, rolls. In order to increase bacon sales Bernays wrote to 5,000 physicians asking whether a heavy breakfast was better for health than a light breakfast.
What did poor people eat during the Great Depression? ›
Many cheap foods still common among the poor today made their debut during the Depression: Wonder Bread (1930), Bisquick (1931), Miracle Whip (1933), and Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (1934). Ragu spaghetti sauce, Kraft mac-n-cheese, and Hormel Spam all appeared during the Roosevelt Recession in 1937.
What did poor people eat for breakfast in the 1800s? ›
Breakfast was generally bread, occasionally with butter. For the poorest a sandwich of bread and watercress was the most common. At the start of the week, porridge made with water might be possible. Lunch involved bread, combined with cheese if possible or more watercress.
What was a popular breakfast in the 1930s? ›
In the 1930s, scrambled eggs or fried eggs were commonly cooked up alongside breakfast meats like bacon or ham. Coffee Time: No breakfast table in the 1930s would be complete without a steaming cup of coffee to kickstart the day!
What is the poor man's meal? ›
Potatoes were also inexpensive and used extensively. Some meals even used both. One of these meals was called the Poor Man's Meal. It combined potatoes, onions, and hot dogs into one hearty, inexpensive dish, which was perfect for the hard times people had fallen on.
How did farmers survive the Great Depression? ›
Farm Families and the Great Depression
Farmers could grow their own food in large gardens and raise livestock to provide meat. Chickens supplied both meat and eggs, while dairy cows produced milk and cream. Many women had sewing skills and began producing much of their family's clothing.
What was a popular breakfast food in the 1800s? ›
In the 1800s, waffles and pancakes were much more prevalent than they were in later years and were ready vehicles for the creative cook's talents. Rice and cornmeal were frequently used to make them up, as were bread crumbs that had been soaked overnight in buttermilk.
What did settlers eat for breakfast? ›
For breakfast colonist might have eaten porridge or mush, which is a warm cereal and could have been made with cornmeal, oats or beans. They may have had bread with butter and jam, but one thing they would not have had was milk!
But back in the 1930s, inexpensive parcels of meat such as beef necks or pork liver would have been part of the frugal fare for African-Americans, especially in Chicago with its many stockyards. And, oh yes, there was chicken - as in chicken feet, he said. Both beans and greens of various descriptions were popular.
What did dogs eat in the Great Depression? ›
Kibble + canned dog foods were introduced made out of dehydrated meat and grain mill scraps. Great Depression (30's - 40's): Canned pet food became 90% of the pet food market. WWII (1939-45): “Non-essential” pet food was not a priority during wartime and rationing.
How hard was it to get food during the Great Depression? ›
Money. During the Great Depression, which occurred from 1929 to 1933, many Americans lost all of their money and were not able to get jobs. Therefore, they were not able to buy food. Since most people did not have enough money to shop for food, there wasn't enough business to keep most of the groceries fully stocked.
What did American colonists eat for breakfast? ›
DID THE COLONISTS EAT MEALS THE WAY WE DO? Yes, the colonists would have eaten 2-3 meals a day. For breakfast colonist might have eaten porridge or mush, which is a warm cereal and could have been made with cornmeal, oats or beans.
Was popcorn and milk during the Great Depression? ›
At this time popcorn was often a breakfast food, eaten from a bowl with milk just as we eat cereal today. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, popcorn's popularity as an everyday snack food started to grow. It was a fun and thrifty snack for families who could afford few luxuries.
What did people eat for breakfast back in the day? ›
A traditional English breakfast for upper-class folks used to include bacon, sausage, and toast. It might also have included fried tomatoes, mushrooms, and smoked herring. (Those in the lower classes ate porridge or oatmeal).
